All I need
by youjibaracuda
Summary: COMPLETE The Akarui Kon...Gaea's notorious pirates...what will happen to them and their leader once the Queen of Fanelia is kidnapped? Not your conventional VH, but please R&R!
1. One

Oct. 2002

(Author Notes are at the end)

DISCLAIMER: Escaflowne and all it's characters are (sadly) not owned by me (all I own are the Schwarz boys ::grins:: and I'm **very** satisfied with that). The plot and additional characters are copywritten to me, however. Read on.

ALL I NEED

By Youjibaracuda

~*~One~*~

Irishiko looked up into the night sky at the orbs hanging amid the glow of stars.

She often could be found gazing heavenwards into the Gaean sky, a sort of glaze coming over her eyes, lost in her own thoughts.

"Iri-sama!" a slender young man of about twenty four called to his boss. He stopped abruptly when he found her staring up at the moons again.

He had often found her this way, just looking up at the sky for hours at a time, as if longing for something that she found there. It was rumored that her grandmother had come from the Mystic Moon, though no one had ever been sure. 

Irishiko continued to look up at the sky when she addressed her second in command, "Were you going to tell me something, Ero, or are you planning to stand there like an idiot?"

Ero's eyes narrowed, but he smiled good-naturedly. "I was coming to let you know that everything is ready for us to leave for Zaibach as soon as you give the word."

She nodded, "We should leave immediately then. We have promises to keep."

"We'll have to stop somewhere else first, though," Ero commented. 

"Yes, we still have a certain someone to pick up, don't we?" his leader responded.

"We can be in Fanelia within a day, and could be in Zaibach in about another day or so," Ero informed her.

Irishiko, Ero, and the rest of the Akarui Kon were located on the outskirts of Cesario, near the Basram border. It would take anyone else over a week to travel to Fanelia and then to Zaibach, but there was no one who knew how to travel around Gaea better than Ero. He could cut traveling time in half, which made him an integral part of Irishiko's strategy.

At the age of twenty two, Irishiko Maeo had formed the Akarui Kon (more commonly known as the Akan), a group of strangers fighting for the same cause: justice. The corruption that seemed to overrun Gaea after the War of Fate made for poverty almost everywhere and the corruption was unspeakably evident.

The Akan formed in order to bring justice and a bit of hope to those who were less fortunate. However, their less than conventional methods had them branded as pirates, and therefore, outlaws.

Though the members of the Akan came and went over the years, the number remained the same: ten. Irishiko had always been the leader of their group, and currently the Akan consisted of six men and four women, each having various skills and personalities that made their operations successful.

Ero had joined them five years earlier at the age of nineteen. A fiery redhead, he quickly gained the respect and trust of Irishiko. His superior skills in the strategy as well as his knowledge of Gaean kingdoms and geography had helped the Akan be incredibly successful. He wasn't too bad with a crossbow either.

The other members were strong and with exceptional gifts only exceeded by their passion to see justice done. 

Of all the Akarui Kon, however, the most mysterious of them all was their leader.

The twenty-nine year old woman had no origins that anyone was sure of. Her long chestnut hair and piercing green eyes, she looked like she could have been a noble of some kind. Her skills with a sword proved otherwise, though, as well as her hard, almost hatred for the nobility system. She despised it and the way that it enslaved those who were in it. 

She was a strong woman, outwardly cold and harsh, business-like and determined. She always got what she sought after and dared anyone to defy her. The reality was that Irishiko was truly had a kind and generous heart, though only those of the Akan ever got to see it.

She could be often found gazing at the sky, seeming to be baring an incredible secret inside that only she could carry. 

She had that far off look now, as her eyes continued focused on the Mystic Moon.

"You really want to go there, don't you?" Ero asked her.

"No, it's not that," his companion answered absent mindedly. "I'm just wondering about it. What life is like…how things would have been if…" she trailed off.

Irishiko shook her head, snapping out of her trance, "Anyway, it's just something I think about."

"There's got to be a way to get there," Ero continued. "Maybe, you could ask the king of Fanelia. After all, he was there, you know."

"Hn," was all Irishiko said in response. She began to walk towards the horses, ready for them to get under way.

Yes, if anyone knew how to get to the Mystic Moon, it would be Van Fanel.

~*~*~

TBC…

Baracuda here. I realize that this is a new story, but since I'm in the process of revamping "Awakening…" I can't update it…see the next chapter is very important, and I don't want to put it out yet….so in order to keep FS from murdering me, I'm posting two chapters of this story I began a while ago…

Thanks, and please Review! 

--Youjibaracuda

"There's not much money in the revenge business. I just do this to pay the bills."

---Inego, _The__ Princess Bride_


	2. Two

Oct. 2002

DISCALIMER: Escaflowne characters are not owned by me (aww….). I do, however, have the rights to the plot and new charcters. Read on.

ALL I NEED

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Two~*~

Van Fanel was tired.

He didn't think he could move another muscle from his spot on the floor.

But his children thought otherwise.

"Father! You have to keep on playing!" his daughter shook his shoulder.

"Don't give up now!" his son begged.

"What's going on here?" the Queen's gentle voice asked as she entered the room accompanied by her other son.

"Trying to take me to an early death," Van mumbled from his spot. "I never knew children could have so much energy."

"On the contrary, your Highness, you have very little energy," his wife responded while standing over him, a smile playing on her lips, laughter in her pale green eyes.

"Are you two still playing silly games?" eleven year old Kiross asked his siblings, crossing his arms.

Gavin stuck his tongue out at his older brother, "They are not silly, and you used to play with me all the time!"

"Yeah!" little Varie piped up.

"You don't remember," Kiross told the girl.

"I do to!" she responded as stubbornly as her father would.

"No you don't!" Kiross argued.

"I do!"

"Kiross, Varie, that's enough," their mother ordered sternly.

Both children quited at their mother's look. "Why don't all three of you go out to play in the gardens?" the queen continued.

The three royals nodded and ran towards the castle gardens, leaving their parents in the room alone.

The queen knelt down next to her husband as he began to laugh. Van couldn't help but find his children amusing. They were his pride and his joy and loved them more than life itself.

Kiross, his oldest, was born when Van was barely twenty-one. The boy had grown to have a remarkable resemblance to his uncle, Folken, and at the age of eleven had already demonstrated that he would be a great ruler someday.

Gavin had been born seven years ago, carrying his mother's dark blonde hair and pale green eyes. He was very energetic and had an insatiable curiosity about everything. He had endless questions that stumped even Dryden occasionally. 

Varie was a four year old angel. Shy and quiet, she didn't take to people as easily as her brothers. She had few people she felt comfortable with, and therefore spent most of her time with Van. She was almost a carbon copy of her father, soft unruly black hair and intense ruby eyes, along with her father's stubbornness. 

Van was willing to do whatever it took to keep his children happy.

"What do you find so amusing, Van?" his wife asked.

He looked into her green eyes and continued to smile. "The children," he told her.

"Oh, I see," she answered pulling a lock of her honey colored hair behind her ear. "It takes a lot to handle all three doesn't it?"

"No wonder Merle takes so many vacations," Van told her.

She smiled in response and took Van's hand in hers. "I wouldn't change them for the world."

"Neither would I," he let her know.

Van looked at his wife and sadness momentarily passed through his heart. He had married over twelve years ago, as was the Fanelian law. And even though a forced marriage was something he had fought with everything he could, he had to admit that he had grown to care for his wife very much. He knew the most likely reason for that was her incredible resemblance to Hitomi. Sezarina Fanel was sweet and kind, as well as a very good diplomat, making her an invaluable queen. When she had been brought from Cesario the day before the wedding, the painfully shy nineteen year old girl had been uncomfortable in Van's presence.  Van had been attracted by her physical resemblance to the woman he loved, but found that she lacked a fire and spirit that only Hitomi possessed. However, as time passed, her other attributed won him over, especially after the birth of their first son. She was so caring and was a wonderful mother, that she won her way into his heart.

"Excuse me, your Majesties," a messenger entered the royal family's private quarters. "My queen, there is a messenger here from Cesario wanting to speak to you."

"Thank you," Queen Sezarina answered. It was not uncommon for her father to send messengers to her periodically. She squeezed Van's hand, "I'll be back."

He nodded as she got up and left in the direction of the main part of the caslte.

The messenger was still standing there when he addressed the king. "This was also left for you, my Lord."

Van looked to see the young man carried a sealed envelope. "Thank you, that's very well. Leave it there on that table and you are dismissed."

The messenger did as he was told and bowed before going out. For some reason, the boy had caught Van's memory. It wasn't unusual that there would be new messenger boys all the time, but for some reason this one had something about him that Van found unsettling.

Gathering himself up off the floor, he crossed the room and picked up the envelope left on the table for him.

It was completely blank on the outside and surprisingly thin. Van broke the unusual black seal and opened the letter inside.

          'Your Highness, the Lord of Fanelia~

            As you are reading this now, we hold your wife prisoner.

            Please, do not be alarmed. No harm will come to her.

            That is, if you fully cooperate with us. 

            Be careful not to be to hasty in sending out your army in search of us.

None of us would wish to see the Queen harmed if you did.

Be assured that we will be in touch.

And remember: It's a new age; you're either with it or against it.'

Van was incredulous. He quickly read over the preposterous note again, not letting fear lace his heart. He made his way down to the main hall, expecting to find his wife there with a messenger from her father and have all this be an awfully bad joke.

He entered the main hall only to find it empty. Interrogating the guards stationed there, Van learned that no one from Cesario had arrived that day and that the Queen had not been seen in that area.

Making other similar interrogations, he discovered that no one had come in or out of the castle in the last hours except for a new messenger boy that had called the Queen and gave the King the kidnapping letter. After digging around some more, Van discovered that this young man was not at all part of the castle staff, and therefore there wasn't a soul who knew him.

Van paced his council chambers later that day, waiting for his advisors to show up, the letter still tightly clutched in his hand. He'd already read it over so many times, he knew it by heart.

He didn't know what had happened, how or why. All that he knew was that his country was now without a queen and his children were missing their mother.

~*~

TBC…

Baracuda here. Okay, so I realize that this is **not** the conventional V/H….i'm sorry, but I would like it if you continued to read this anyway…I wanted to explore another possible type of plot.

::begs on her knees:: PLEASE DON'T ABANDON ME!!!

okay, so that's it for me….

--Youjibaracuda

"Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while."

---Westley, _The__ Princess Bride_

CECE!!!! HA! TWO NEW CHAPPIES BEFORE NOV.28!!! ::points at calendar::

After all, you didn't say anything about it having to be for the same fic…..heh….once again, a minor detail saves my butt!!! ;D


	3. Three

© November 2002

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Esca. ( I stopped crying about it a long time ago). Read on.

ALL I NEED

By Youjibaracuda

~*~THREE~*~

Irishiko ran her eyes over the dingy shack she was standing outside of. The place had a musty odor that was by no means appealing to the senses. The structure looked like it was centuries old and would fall to pieces any moment, the grey wood rotting on the outside and the tiny window clouded over with dust.

"Really home-y, isn't it?" Ero asked her.

Her lips curled in disgust. "I don't remember it being this disgusting."

They were near the outside gates of the main entrance of Fanelia, in a part of the wilderness that apparently could not be tamed. 

"Do we just go in?" Ero asked, looking around.

"No," the woman answered, as she made her way to the door of the shack, "We're going to have manners and knock."

Ero looked after her for a moment before following her.

She lightly tapped on the molding door and waited for a response. None came, so she brought her hand back up to knock again, when the door opened on its own. The place was incredibly dark and the rays of sunlight coming in limited visibility.

Irishiko's eyes narrowed, but before she would move, Ero brushed past her, his crossbow ready and raised. Annoyed that the man was treating her like a weak female, Irishiko pushed the door open wider and pulled out her sword. She moved through the darkness stealthily, with tricks she had been taught by her sword master years ago.

"Disappear," he had always said, "Surprise is the ultimate weapon."

And surprised Ero was when he nearly tripped over Irishiko, who was kneeling on the floor in front of him. 

"Iri-sama, what—"

"Quiet," she spat, not even looking back while her long sword touched his neck.

Ero knew that she would never actually kill him, but he realized that he had offended her earlier by treating her like a defenseless woman. 

He had never known a woman like Irishiko ever in his life. She had often proved that could be the equal to any man, and, in some cases, even a superior.

The cold blade was bluntly reminding him of that fact, while Irishiko picked something up off the floor.

Sliding the blunt end of her blade against Ero's chest, she pushed him back outside while she inspected the blank envelope in her hand. Frowning, she broke the black seal and opened the letter.

Ero watched as she read the sheet of paper.

It was a rare thing to see Irishiko without her mask. All the Akan wore black masks, but their leader seemed to favor them a lot more than the rest of them did. On this occasion, however, since they were making a visit to an old friend, Irishiko had thought it best to be straightforward.

Gods, he loved her.

She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever seen. She hadn't changed a bit from the first time he had seen her, five years ago, when he swore allegiance to the Akarui Kon. The only evident sign of the passage of time were her battle scars. 

There were those on Gaea who did not look at the Akan's work with a friendly eye. One time there had been an assassination attempt on one of the Akan's major patrons. Irishiko found out about it in time and went with four others to protect the old man. However, the assassin still came.

Ero remembered that night perfectly.

*flashback* 

Irishiko let her eyes slide across the building in front of her before turning to Ero.

"He's here," she said simply, "Most likely on the roof somewhere so that he could have a clear shot."

She turned to the carriage behind her where Karia, another member of the Akan had been dressed as the old man. Though Karia was thirty-two, she had a small frame and could therefore easily don a disguise.

"It's safe," Irishiko said loudly. "You can enter your home now, my Lord."

Karia stepped out of the carriage and adjusted her broad-rimmed hat, being closely followed by the old man in a dark cloak that covered all of his features. Karia took the man's arm, appearing to be leaning on him for support, though it was he who was leaning on her. They entered the house, followed by Ero, while Irishiko stayed outside to make sure no one followed.

Just then Ero had this sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He turned around to look behind him, when just then he saw him.

The archer was standing on the roof of the opposite building, arrow raised, ready to shoot his target—Irishiko.

Ero's grey eyes widened as he realized that the assassination target had never been the old man, but the leader of the Akan. It had been a trap!

He opened his mouth in warning, but he was too late. The arrow had already left the bow and was traveling towards Irishiko's head.

He didn't know what was going on, but the next thing he knew he was sliding on the wet ground and with his legs made Irishiko fall backwards just as the arrow whizzed by.

Ero promptly aimed his crossbow and fired at the damned man across the way.

Satisfied once he heard the man's lifeless body fall, Ero turned to his leader.

Though the arrow fired had not made its intended mortal wound, Irishiko's mask had been torn, revealing that her pale skin was gashed in a straight path from her eyebrow to the middle of her hair line. She was on the floor, bleeding, and in an utter state of shock.

"Iri-sama?" Ero looked down at her, "Are you alright?"

She looked at him strangely as she lifted her hand to his cheek and smiled at him.

That was the first time in the two years he had known her that Ero had seen her genuinely smile.

He knew then that was falling in love.

*end flashback*

As Ero contemplated all of this, Irishiko finished the letter.

"Damn it," she spat, as she quickly moved to the horses they had left tied to a nearby tree.

Ero snapped out of his reverie and turned to look at her. 

"What's going on?" he asked.

Irishiko had already jumped up on her spotted mare and turned in the direction that they had come.

"We have problems," she said simply before kicking her horse into a gallop.

Ero quickly mounted his own steed and followed her as best he could.

Expecting her to return to where they had encamped, he decided to take a short cut, but when he saw that she was instead heading the direction of the entrance of the city of Fanelia.

Surpirsed, Ero made an about-face and once again followed his leader.

For one that only but rarely visited Fanelia, Irishiko knew her way around the city. She wove in and out of the busy streets with great precision, and appeared to know exactly where she was going.

Unlike most countries in Gaea, Fanelia had shut themselves off from the 'progress' that Zaibach technology had brought. They continued to live rural lives, being farmers for the most part, and having just enough political stability to keep them content and safe. So it was needless to say that though Fanelia had no budding industries, they also didn't have the filth of factories or the extreme poverty that plagued the rest of Gaea. Therefore, what you would consider a Fanelian slum would be the same of a high middle class in any other country.

Ero realized that Irishiko had come to a stop in one of these slums, and seemed to be looking around for something. He rode up next to her.

"Iri-sama, what—"

"Shh," she said, her eyes wandering over the houses, looking for something.

He stared at her when she rode up in front of a house in the far corner of the street.

She jumped off her horse, stone faced, pulling her sword from its sheath and barged in through the door.

Ero quickly jumped off his own horse, wondering what had possessed Irishiko to enter the place in such a way, but he had his crossbow ready.

He entered the dark house only to find Irishiko's sword on the floor and Irishiko herself with a sword across her throat held by a figure that also held her right arm behind her back.

"Shoot that arrow and she dies," the dark figure said sternly, guessing Ero's next move. "Put it down."

Ero growled in response, not about to give in to the creep's demands.

"Do it," Irishiko said. Ero looked at the woman who stared back at him, and he saw that she had no trace of doubt or fright in her features.

Hating to give up so quickly but figuring that she knew what she was doing, Ero lowered his crossbow and placed it on the floor and raised his hands in surrender.

"Good boy," the dark figure said with an unseen smile.

"I want to see him," Irishiko demanded.

"Yes, he knew you would," the figure said, releasing Irishiko. He moved to close the door that was letting in all the sunlight, and the darkness that came revealed that the room they were in was incredibly small, and not really a room at all, but more like an entrance of some kind to something larger.

"Follow me," the figure said, taking a candle and opening part of the wall to reveal a long dark staircase leading down.

As the figure disappeared down the stairs, Irishiko bent to pick up her sword and Ero's crossbow.

"I need you to stay here," she said to him, handing him his weapon, "Just in case."

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Ero demanded. 

"I'm not really sure myself," she answered, "But I have to see him."

She walked over to the staircase and began to descend.

"Who?" Ero called after her.

Irishiko paused and looked back at him.

"Korin."

~*~

TBC…

I want to thank everyone who reviewed this story! You guys are *so* the best!!!! It is a major ego booster and makes writing feel worthwhile! 

I want to make it clear to everyone that this is **not** A/U!!!!

Okay, so this is the next chappie, and I realize that it's terribly confusing. That's why there's another chappie to go along with it! ^_^

R&R!!

--Youjibaracuda

"Do you want me to send you back to where you were? Unemployed, in Greenland???"

--_The Princess Bride_


	4. Four

November 2002

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Esca. Read on.

ALL I NEED

By Youjibaracuda

~*~FOUR~*~

Irishiko continued the decent behind the cloaked man. They reached the bottom to find a long, dark hallway with many doors on either side. The cloaked man with the candle opened the one closest to them and held the door open, motioning for her to enter.

Irishiko stepped into a dimly lit room, small with another door on the other side of it.

She turned when she heard the door behind her close, the cloaked man gone.

"It's good to see you again, Iko," a deep voice said.

Her eyes flew in the direction of the voice, only to notice a man had been standing in the dark corner of the room the whole time.

He looked to be in his mid-thirties, dark skinned, tall with broad shoulders of a fighter. He had short platinum blonde hair that seemed to stand on end and shoot off in all directions, while his piercing amber eyes had a soft glow in the torch light.

Irishiko scowled at the man, and pulling out the letter that had brought her there, she threw it on the floor in front of her. 

"What the hell is this about?" she demanded.

"I suppose you wan to get right to the point then," he responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't have time to play games, Korin," Irishiko spat.

The man stepped towards her and smiled, shaking his head. 

"You haven't changed a bit," he remarked. 

"I didn't come here to talk about the past," Irishiko said harshly.

"Tsk, tsk, temper," he waved a finger at her.

"Damn it, Korin!"

"Shut up, Iko," he man thundered, his playful tone dissolved into a malicious snarl, "You're in no position to be making demands!"

Irishiko took a deep breath. She knew he was right, as much as she hated to be strung along. As it was, she was having a hard time keeping her hand from her sword and simply disposing of Korin.

"Alright," the man proceeded, "Let's get down to business."

"Where is he?" Irishiko asked. Her patience was beginning to wear thin.

"Here's the funny part," he began, crossing his arms over his chest, "I don't have him. But I need him."

"If you don't have him, then who does?" Irishiko asked.

"CeJalii," Korin answered simply.

Irishiko groaned. CeJalii was a ring of organized crime that was in the far west. The only thing that they enjoyed more than spilling blood was making a quick buck.

"I found out they took him about three days ago," Korin continued. "It was also then that I realized that he had made a deal with you. You were to take him to Zaibach safely. I was also surprised that you had put him here, right in the outskirt of Fanelia. I don't understand how it was that I didn't notice that your precious inventor was just outside my very door?"

Irishiko's eyes narrowed. Lancen, an inventor she met years ago, had come from Zaibach, but was seeking another place of refuge, where he could invent things and then with the Akan's help, release it for the benefit of all, as opposed to giving it to greedy businessmen that would just use his inventions for their profit and increase corruption. Korin wanted the inventor in order to sell him off to the highest bidder.

"I made it that way," she responded, "Because I knew that you are so full of yourself you can't see past the end of your nose."

Korin's lips pulled up into a sadistic smile. "That's what makes the current situation so delightful. You are going to go and get the inventor back for me."

"What?!" Irishiko yelled, insulted that he could even suggest that she have a hand in his dirty work. She wasn't his dog to fetch what he wanted.

"You have to free the inventor anyway. And when you do, you will bring him back here to me," Korin said calmly.

Irishiko began to laugh. "What makes you think that I would ever do such a thing?" she asked. "I would never help you obtain anything."

"Oh, but you'll have to," Korin said, smile still playing on his face. "You can't afford not to."

"And why is that, pray tell."

"Come and see."

Korin turned to grab one of the torches off the wall and opened the door on the other end of the room, motioning for Irishiko to follow.

They entered another small room, but there was a glass window on one side of it.

Korin motioned for her to have a look as he stepped aside.

Irishiko approached the glass, looking inside to a tiny little area. White light from the outside was shining through a small hole in the high ceiling, and it revealed the space to be a type of cell, with a door on one side of it and a cot on the opposite end.

But what was in the middle of the cell is what Korin had wanted her to see. There, lying on the dirt floor, bruised, dirty, and fast asleep within the beam of light, was a woman.

She was dressed in a light pink gown that was wrinkled, but appeared to be of fine material. The woman had honey colored hair that flowed past her waist and  small golden circlet was around her fore head.

Irishiko whirled around to look at Korin once again.

"Is that--?"

He tossed something to her which she caught in mid air. She opened her hand to reveal a ring in her palm, the Fanelian insignia of royalty catching the light.

"The Queen of Fanelia," Korin said smugly.

Irishiko clenched both her fists, the ring still in her left hand. 

"You kidnapped the Queen of Fanelia?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

"I need insurance," her companion replied, "I need to make sure that you can't be high handed about all this. It's simple: you give me the inventor, I give you the Queen. A pretty good deal if you ask me."

"You bastard," Irishiko growled.

"I'd watch your language if I were you," Korin said, turning and re-entering the room they had been in before, Irishiko in tow.  
"You have a week," he said. "If I don't have the inventor by then, unharmed, she dies. It's that simple."

"Or I could simply kill you right now," Irihsiko spat.

Korin shook his head. "That would be no good. She's been given a drug that takes effect in seven days. If I'm dead, then in seven days so will she. When you bring me what I want, I will give her the antidote."

Irishiko's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, and I suggest you get some royal help," Korin said.

"What?"

"I want the King of Fanelia to personally come and claim his wife," he continued. "If he's as righteous as he claims to be, I would expect him to offer to come."

"You want a ransom," Irishiko stated.

"It's not everyday that I get to kidnap royalty," the man responded.

"You won't get away with this," Irishiko said. "You know I can find a way around this."

"I look forward to your feeble attempts," he retorted. "I suggest you get moving. The clock is, after all, ticking."

Irishiko growled as Korin turned and walked out of the room, leaving Irishiko alone.

The woman wasn't sure whether to run after him and beat Korin senseless, or just kill the first thing she could find. Neither of those options, however, were open to her at the moment, so she had to simply leave. She wouldn't give Korin the satisfaction of knowing that he had backed her into a corner.

She jumped up the stairs of the staircase she had descended earlier, skipping two steps at a time.

She got to the top and walked outside, a curious Ero following her.

"Iri-sama," he called to her as they walked to their horses.

When she didn't respond, Ero grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.

"I think I've been **very** patient about all this. Now tell me, Irishiko, what's going on?" Ero demanded with searching grey eyes.

The woman sighed and loosened herself from his grip.

"I can't tell you right now," she said. "As soon as we get out of the city, I'll explain everything."

Ero nodded in agreement, knowing very well that he couldn't demand anymore from his superior.

~*~

"…so now we have to bring Lancen back and hand him over in exchange for the Queen," Irishiko summed up.

Ero let out a deep sigh and ran a hand through his red hair. They had stopped just outside the city, next to a stream in order to let the horses have a drink.

"So now we have to go in the middle of CeJalii territory," Ero thought out loud. "You know they hate us. You in particular."

Irishiko grunted. "Yes. Only because I wouldn't let Jordanii take advantage of me," she said, recalling the time the CeJalii elder's son had tried to come on to her.

"So do you have a plan?" Ero asked.

Irishiko set her jaw firmly. "I'm going to have to think of one quickly. This changes everything."

~*~

TBC…

Okay, y'all, Baracuda here.

Are you guys totally confused? I'm sorry if you are, but I promise it'll be cleared up quickly. I have the plot for this defined and have promised myself not to change it or add to it so it doesn't become this kind of monster.

As for you guys that want to know where the hell Hitomi is, I'll tell you: she's in the next chapter. Promise. Some V/H action finally! ::giggle:: 

For those not on my A/A list: check back at the end of next week for new chappie(s)

For those on my A/A list: You'll know when I've posted.

Always leave reviews,

I will consider your views, 

Making me happy.

--Youjibaracuda

"BYE BYE BOYS!"

"HAVE FUN STORMING THE CASTLE!"

::whisper:: "Do you think it'll work?"

::whisper:: "It would take a miracle."

--_The Princess Bride_


	5. Five

November 2002

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Esca. ::grumble:: but believe me when I tell you I'm working on owning the anime empire someday with the help of Sable and Koyuki and Raymei. We'll become the next CLAMP and form an empire that slowly takes over everything and then….::stops when she realizes people are staring:: I think I've said too much…anyway. Read on.

ALL I NEED

By Youjibaracuda

~*~FIVE~*~

Van ran his hands through his unruly hair. 

His muscles were tense and he was completely frustrated.

If there was one thing he hated was being backed into a corner, which was exactly where he was. 

He had absolutely no idea who had Sezarina or why they had taken her. There were a number of people who could want to pull Van into a situation where he would have to break from Fanelia's seclusion from the rest of the "revolutionized" Gaea.

The truth of the matter was that Gaea's introduction to Donkirk's inventions and philosophies had brought more harm than good. He had seen first hand the kind of suffering and invitation for corruption these "innovations" had brought. So, along with the approval his people, Van decided to keep Fanelia way from all that. They were happy the way they were, and had always kept to themselves, and therefore it wasn't difficult to break away from the mainstream ideas that were sweeping over Gaea. 

Because of this, there were those outside the country could be holding a grudge against Fanelia, perhaps looking at their isolation as a type of betrayal.

But of all the problems he had right now, the hardest one by far was facing his children.

Kiross was told the truth of the situation, and even though he actually threw himself into his father's arms in fear for a while, he eventually straightened up and nobly offered his assistance.

Van smiled inwardly at his older son's bravery to face such a difficult situation. 

Gavin, however, had posed more of a problem. Gavin, Van had considered old enough to understand why his mother was gone. The seven year old had sobbed for a long time on Van's shoulder until he feel asleep and Van had to take him to his room. He was very attached to Sezarina and it was going to be very hard for him to cope with her kidnapping.

What had seemed strange to Van was the reaction of his youngest. When she had asked about her mother, Varie was told that her mother would be gone for a while. The child had stopped and seemed to consider this.

"You don't like her anymore, Daddy?" she had asked Van.

"No, sweetie, I do," Van had told the little girl, "She's just going to be gone for a while."

"Are you going to go too?" she asked him.

"Only when I have to go and bring your mother back," Van responded.

Varie smiled and hugged her father tightly.

"As long as I have you, Daddy, everything's okay," the four year old had said.

Now Van threw himself into his bed, aggravated by the council's reaction. No one could agree on what to do. But it was clear that nothing could be done until they had received more information. All they could do was nothing.

And nothing could frustrate Van Fanel more.

He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. He needed to clear his head; he needed to feel comforted by the only person who could.

_'Hitomi?' his mind called out._

_'Van?' Hitomi's sweet voice responded to his call._

_'Are you busy?' he asked._

_'Never for you,' she answered._

Van opened up his mental plane, creating the scenario in which they would be meeting. He needed to see her, to feel her presence, even if it was just in the planes of their minds.

_'Where are you, Van?' Hitomi asked him._

_'The ocean' he answered, __'It shines like thousands of glittering jewels.'_

He continued the description of the mental plane he found himself in. Slowly, as he described it, it began to take form around him.

_'I can smell of the salt in the air…' he said just as a salty breeze picked up._

_'The expansion that goes on forever,' Hitomi contributed, making the ocean expand endlessly._

_'The waves are beautiful,' she continued._

_'So are you,' he told her._

Then she appeared before him, having been able to arrange her thoughts to coincide with his and entering the plane of his mind. Sharing the same thought is what allowed them to see each other.

She had her honey hair haphazardly picked up in a messy twist, and she was wearing a light blue button down shirt with dark blue pants that she called jeans. Van could tell she must have been in the middle of doing something else when he had called to her.

"What's wrong, Van?" Hitomi asked almost immediately, alarm lacing her tone. She could feel the distress that was underlain in the beautiful scene within Van's mind.

The king sighed deeply, knowing she would have felt his aggravation. But he didn't want to think about that right now.

"I just want to clear my head, that's all," he told her.

Hitomi raised an eyebrow skeptically at him. 

"I'm sorry if I interrupted anything," Van continued.

Her face relaxed. "Don't talk nonsense, Van. I always have time for you," she said as she sat down on the sand, motioning for him to join her, to which he complied.

He picked held her left hand in his right, even though he couldn't really feel her touch. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while.

The gentle crash of the waves before them continued in a gentle motion. Some where off in the distance he could hear the sound of birds, which Hitomi had called "seagulls". He hadn't spent much time by the ocean, while Hitomi had grown up next to it, so he knew she was aiding a lot in making this scenery they were in.

Van loved to just be with Hitomi, to know she was next to him. Her very presence was soothing and slowly he felt his problems drop from him and roll away with the waves…

She made his life better…the fact that he had let the opportunity of having her with him slip through his hands, **twice,** often made him feel disgusted at his weakness…

*~flashback~*

_'Hitomi?' the nineteen year old girl heard Van's voice in her mind._

_'Van!' she called out to him. __'How are you?'_

_'I need to talk to you. It's important,' he said in an urgent tone. He sounded excited, so Hitomi knew that there was nothing wrong._

_'Okay,' she answered, putting down her pencil and gladly shoving aside her calculus work._

_'I'm listening, Van.'_

_'No, I need to talk to you in person,' he said._

_'Okay,' she responded, beginning to clear her mind, __'What are you thinking about?'_

_'No, not like that. I want to really__ see you,' Van insisted._

Hitomi laughed. _'Is that so?' she said skeptically, tilting back in her desk chair. __'How do you suppose we can arrange that?'_

_'I'm already here,' Van said simply._

Hitomi fell backwards out of her chair.

"WHAT??!!!" she cried out loud.

"Hitomi?" she heard her mother's voice call. "Everything alright?"

"Everything's fine. Mom," Hitomi called back.

_'Van, what the hell are you talking about?' Hitomi asked in a rush._

She heard him chuckle. _'I mean that I'm here. On the Mystic Moon. I need to talk to you,' he said. __'How can I find you?'_

Hitomi shook her head, forgetting that he couldn't see her. _'No, I'll come find you. Just stay where you are. I am going to need you to relay an image though. Of your surroundings,' she explained as she looked around for her jacket._

Van began to describe the things around him as best he could and Hitomi concentrated on the thought, when suddenly she was there with him in the plane of his mind. She quickly looked around and found that Van was at the track of her old high school. Somehow she wasn't surprised that he would be there. Gently, she created more to the atmosphere and directed Van's attention to the shrine that was just beyond the trees they had been discussing.

"I'll meet you there," she told him, before slipping away from his mind and returning to her real world. 

Hitomi walked out of her house and headed for the train station. It shouldn't take her long to get to the high school.

These past four years had been hard for Hitomi. All she had been through had forced her to grow up very quickly. The war on Gaea had unintentionally taken her innocence and made her realize that mankind was capable of causing pain. As if to prove it, soon after her return from Gaea, her father had abandoned her family. Even though her mother already worked full time, it wasn't enough for the three of them. Since Mamurou was only ten at the time, the burden fell upon Hitomi to help maintain her family. When she had turned sixteen, she began working at a local dojo that was owned by a family friend. There she was taught kendo, and with the money she earned at her job and the money she earned from winning some minor competitions, was able help her family and also get herself into college. Her family depended on her, at least for now, since Mamurou was almost fifteen now, and soon her would be able to relieve her of her duty and allow her to move on in her life.

All these thoughts were the ones running through her mind when the train pulled into her stop. She got off and made her way towards Kamikura High School.

The fall air was whipping around her as she neared the Shrine.

Right about now, panic started to set in, as she realized she was about to meet Van again for real after four years. She suddenly felt extremely self conscious, looking down at herself, realizing that in her hurry to leave the house, she was dressed in an old pair of sweats, a small black t-shirt over which she had pulled on a red jacket. She must have looked a complete mess. The advantage of her and Van meeting each other in their minds was that she could adjust her appearance as she pleased and Van would never be the wiser.

As she got nearer, her heart began pounding unnaturally fast and it was becoming difficult to swallow.

Finally, she reached her destination, and finding no one, she began to wonder if she had simply imagined that Van had come to Earth. After all, it had been her strongest desire ever since she had left Gaea. Well, either her brain was playing cruel tricks on her, or she was losing her mind. Her eyes down cast on the ground, she turned to walk away only to walk right into a hard, strong body that grabbed her before she fell backwards.

"I'm so sorry," she began to apologize.

"Hitomi?" a deep male voice asked.

Hitomi's eyes shot up only to find herself face to face with the object of her desire.

"It's really you," they both said at once.

Hitomi laughed. "When I didn't see you I thought I had imagined it all," she explained.

"I saw you coming but I didn't recognize you, so I went behind there," Van said, tilting his head in the direction of some trees.

"You didn't recognize me?" Hitomi asked, puzzled.

Van shrugged. "You look…a little different," he told her. Hitomi felt a blush rush to her cheeks as she realized that Van was still holding her against him, and she could appreciate the full hardness of his broad chest and strong arms. 

 "What happened to your hair?" he asked her.

Hitomi's eyes widened with understanding. Of course he didn't recognize her. She reached up to touch her now pitch black hair that was amazingly similar to Van's. The difference was that there was streaks of white in the front, making it a very odd look overall.

"It's dyed," she explained, "A word to the wise. Never make a bet unless you're willing to deal with the consequences of losing."

"Dyed?" Van asked. "You mean you can dye your hair like you dye cloth?"

"Sort of," Hitomi answered. "It's a very long story that I won't get into."

Van nodded, and ran a hand through the hair that was over her shoulders. The black that framed her face made her skin look paler, and her green eyes stand out more intensely. 

"I liked your original color better," he said softly. 

"I'll make a note of that," Hitomi responded.

"Still," he continued, "It doesn't mean that I love you any less."

Hitomi smiled up at him before wrapping her arms around her shoulders and pressing herself against him in a hug.

Van loved her.

She remembered the day he had told her. She had let him know how she felt first, telling him that she understood if the feelings were not reciprocated. He had taken her hands in his and looked into her eyes, telling her that all she had said were the very things he had been afraid to tell her for years. Everything had been perfect then, in the plane of their minds.

Well, almost everything.

Hitomi now found that nothing could be better than to feel Van, like she was right now, solid and tangible, feeling his arms around her and protecting her from the world.

Van was taking in the feel of the woman he loved. It felt so good to actually physically hold her, and he hoped he would be able to do so for a long time.

He pulled away slightly and ran his fingers along the curves of her face and across her lips. He leaned in slowly and cautiously, just in case she didn't want him to do what he was about to do.

Timidly, Van let his lips lightly graze against hers in a hesitant kiss. When Hitomi didn't pull away, he did it again, holding his lips longer over hers. She finally reacted and hesitantly kissed him back. Liking the feel of his lips, Hitomi felt a surge of confidence, and moved to deepen the kiss, letting her arms wrap around his neck so they could be in a better position. He tightened his grip on her body as he felt it pressed against him.

They eventually had to let their lips part (because of that annoying thing called oxygen) but they kept their heads together as they caught their breaths.

"That was nice," Hitomi commented with a smile.

"I mean to have it repeated often," Van responded.

"Is that what you wanted to tell me?" she asked, blushing.

Van's eyes seemed to snap back into focus as he remembered the reason he was even there at the moment. He backed away from her slightly, a rare smile playing on his lips.

"Yes and no," he told her.

"Its Fanelian law that the king should marry during his eighteenth year," he began.

"But you're nineteen now, Van," Hitomi interrupted.

"I know. I've been able to put it off for a year. The king gets to choose his bride, but if he will not, then one will be chosen for him. The reason I put it off for a year is that it's taken me that long to be able to get here."

Van swallowed loudly, and lowered his gaze to the ground, taking Hitomi's hands in his.

"I wanted…I was wondering if…" he lifted his mahogany eyes to her face, a blush covering his cheeks.

"There's no one I would want for my wife other than you," Van said quietly.

Hitomi felt her heart stop before suddenly beating so fast it threatened to burst right out of her.

Van lowered himself on one knee, and looked up at her shocked face.

"Hitomi, will you consent to marrying me?"

A cool autumn breeze floated through the red and gold leaves of the trees above them. Some of these leaves left their native home and floated in the wind, happy and free.

Hitomi's face had grown unbelievably pale. Her legs couldn't hold her up anymore and so she dropped to the floor in front of Van.

"You want me to marry you?" she asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Yes," Van answered, becoming increasingly worried. This wasn't exactly how he'd imagined this situation would play out.

"That would mean that I would have to go back to Gaea with you right away," Hitomi said more to herself than to him, her eyes off in the distance but they didn't seem to be focused on anything in particular.

"Hitomi…?" Van gently touched her shoulder, fear beginning to lace his tone.

Her eyes became glazed over with tears as she bowed her head.

"I can't," she said almost inaudibly.

Van felt the wind had been knocked out of him. "What?" he finally managed to ask. Hitomi threw herself in his arms, holding him tightly.

"I would love nothing more than to marry you," she said, her voice breaking.

A bit of relief passed through Van as he held her. Maybe he hadn't heard her right.

"Is there anyway that we can postpone the wedding for another year or so?" Hitomi asked.

Van shook his head, now not understanding what exactly was going on. 

"No, I can't. I've already held it off for a year longer than I should have," he told her.

There was a pause on Hitomi's side.

"Then, I can't marry you," she said.

She went on to explain what her situation was and how she couldn't abandon her family when they needed her the most.

Van held her, listening to what she was saying, and feeling his heart breaking. 

The selfish part of him a wanted to tell her that he would do whatever it took for them to be together. But deep in his heart he knew he couldn't. He couldn't bend the law anymore than he already had. His people needed a king they could trust to always do the right thing. On top of that, they needed an heir, especially in the difficult times that Gaea was going through where another war could break out at anytime. If something happened to him, who would lead his people?

It tore his heart to pieces to tell her all of that, and he knew that it must have equally as difficult for her to refuse him.

They both had duties to fulfill, and it seemed as if Fate would not allow them to be together.

"I love you, Van," Hitomi said, after firmly kissing his lips. "Don't ever forget that."

"You are the only one I could ever love," he told her, feeling tears sting his eyes. "No one else could ever have my heart."

"You've always had mine," she whispered to him.

They tearfully kissed once more and, quite possibly for the last time, physically held each other until a blue pillar of light came to carry Van away.

Hitomi let bitter tears fall from her eyes as she watched him disappear from her view.

Once he was gone, she felt incredibly empty, as if her very soul had been ripped from her.

"What do know, Van?" she whispered into the air, "You took me with you anyway."

~*end flashback*~

"Hitomi," Van spoke up, "I'm so sorry."

She turned her face toward him, knowing what he had been thinking about. 

"Don't apologize anymore, Van. You know that it wasn't your fault or mine. It's just the way things happened."

"But—"

"Shh," she said holding her finger to his lips. She leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss. "I don't want to hear about it anymore. Okay?"

He nodded and let out a heavy sigh.

After a moment he leaned forward with a smile and kissed her cheek lightly. "Happy thirtieth," he told her.

"You remembered," she said.

He nodded and smiled lightly at her. 

"Of course. Now you can't call me old anymore," he teased.

"Yeah," she responded with a giggle, "That is until you turn thirty one. Then you'll be my old man again."

Van glared at her good naturedly. "It's not my fault I was born eight months before you were." **

Hitomi sighed and shook her head, "I guess not. But it doesn't change anything."

They laughed for a while, and both felt their sprits being uplifted.

"I have to go, Van," Hitomi then said, "Do you feel better?"

"Yes, thank you. Will I see you soon?"

"Absolutely. Good night, Van," she said as she gave him a quick hug before disappearing.

Van opened his eyes to find he had returned to his room once more.

"Good night, my love," Van said softly.

~*~

TBC… 

**Van was born the 12th of White which is about April, and Hitomi was born December 9th 

Baracuda here. I'm supposed to be studying for a Japanese oral exam I have tomorrow morning.(it's Sunday night) But what am I doing? WRITING FOR THE LOVE OF YOU PEOPLE!! I HOPE YOU APPRECIATE WHAT I DO FOR YOU!!!! ::giggle:: j/k..

That was probably the longest flashback ever…gomen nasai. Okay, I know that this wasn't exactly the type of V/H action you were expecting, but that's the way this story goes.

::dodges unidentified flying objects being thrown at her by V/H fans::

HEY!!! That's not fair!!! I'll make it better!!!!

I'm sorry I took longer than expected, but I hope *some* of you enjoyed it (::glares at fans that threw things at her::)

Please R&R!!!!!

--Youjibaracuda

"'You mock my pain!'

'Life is pain, Highness! Anyone who says differently is selling something.'"

_---The Princess Bride_


	6. Six

© December 2002

All I need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~SIX~*~

Irishiko crossed her arms, closing her eyes as she heard the rest of the members of the Akan discuss the matter she had brought to them.

Those who had been part of the Akan for longer instantly resented Korin's involvement with anything, whereas the younger members, though not completely understanding what was going on, still understood that their plans had been changed for the worse.

"Listen, whatever we do, we have to rescue the inventor _and the Queen," Ero interrupted everyone's conversation. _

"We need a plan. Iri-sama," he continued, turning to the woman who was sitting in the corner of the wagon they were all sitting in, her head resting against one of the walls, "You said you had already thought of something."

All eyes turned to their leader. 

"The Boss always has a plan," Pyelio (or Pye for short) spoke up. One of the youngest of the group, Pye looked up to Irishiko, believing that she could do no wrong.

Irishiko pushed herself up and moved to the table where everyone else had gathered a while just before sunset.

She slowly looked to each of the members of the Akarui Kon. Standing next to her was the ever faithful Ero, his long fiery hair tied back loosely, letting a couple of wisps fall into his grey eyes. Sitting next to Ero were Jasper and Natalia Kain. They were forty three and thirty nine, respectively, and, being happily married for fifteen years, were part of the original Akan. They were also the Akan's resident explosives experts. They looked to Irishiko with complete faith, trusting in her abilities.

"I think we have to follow along with what Korin as ordered us to do," Irishiko began.

"WHAT?!" Byron Alveria cried, "You're going to go along with that bastard?!"

The thirty four year old was usually very gentle and kind (though a bit on the ditsy side of platinum blonde), and had a physique that had made more than one lady drool. However, his immaculate appearance and gentlemanly ways only hid the fact that his fencing abilities were lethal. Though, at this moment, his manners were thrown out the window at the preposterous proposal of the brown haired woman before him. He remembered all too well what had happened five years ago and wondered why Irishiko seemed so calm about it all.

"Will you let me finish?" an irritated Irishiko glared at the hazel eyed man. "I have no intention of doing what he wants, but the fact is that we still have to rescue Lancen from the CeJalii and if we want to keep the Fanelian Queen alive, we have to do it in less than seven days….Six actually."

She leaned forward to look at everyone in the eye. "I don't want this to get out. If the CeJalii find out that we know where they're hiding the inventor, this could all go down the drain."

"You know where Lancen is?" Ran Salkur spoke up. He was a physically well built man of an age between thirty and forty (no one was actually sure how old he was). His body was his weapon and he kept it in very fine condition. He was a damn good cook too.

Ero looked to the stoic twenty five year old who sat to the right with crossed arms. "I think Ivan could tell us."

Ivan LeRon was the perfect three Cs: calm, cool, and collected. Nothing could phase this guy. He lifted his gaze to Ero and shook his black hair out of his amber eyes.

"I overheard some CeJalii talking when we passed through Basram. They said they were keeping someone important in one of the wherehouses on the docks of Ezgardia."

"Hmph. 'Overheard'? More you like you beat it out of them," Pye teased.

Ivan shot the blue haired man an icy glare before closing his eyes and returning to his original position. Though it sometimes didn't look it, Pye and Ivan were very good friends, rarely finding one without the other. Pye was Ivan's junior by five years, but his small and sleek frame along with his shaggy cut straight blue hair made him look like he was sixteen as opposed to the twenty that he was. He was a pick pocket by nature, and could get into any locked/barricaded/fortified place in the blink of an eye (which was exactly why Irishiko kept him around). He had grown up with Ivan and his younger sister Ephrye in a small town on the outskirts of Palas. He and Ivan had joined with the Akan three years ago along with Ran.

Irishiko ignored the two boys and continued, "I don't want all of us to go. I'm going to go and get Lancen back while the rest of you continue to head for Zaibach as planned, only you'll take a regular route."

"You're not going alone, love," Natalia spoke up. "It's impossible for you do it by yourself in less than seven days."

"I agree," Jasper said firmly. "You have to do this with a team."

"Fine," Irishiko consented, "I'll take Pye and Ivan for infiltration and reconnaissance."  

"You're going to take me too," Ero told her. "The only way to catch Korin off guard is to complete this mission before he expects us to. In order to do that, you have to take me."

"Ero, I need you to be in charge here while we're gone," Irishiko argued.

"I'm more use to you if I go along," Ero countered. "You'll be back in Fanelia with Lancen within five days, most likely less, I promise."

Irishiko sighed and knew he was right. She just didn't like the idea of going with more than three people, but Ivan and Pye were essential. If she took anyone else, someone who ran into the rest of the Akan would notice a considerable number was missing and that would arouse suspicion. She nodded her head towards Jasper.

"Alright then. Jasper, you'll have immediate command authority while we're away.  I want you to take the long road to Zaibach, and make sure that you're seen. As far as Gaea is concerned the Akarui Kon will be traveling towards Zaibach. NO ONE is to know about this operation, is that understood?"

"Yes, m'am," Jasper nodded his grey head at her. 

"I know I can trust you," Irishiko smirked at him.

"Well, I wouldn't be too sure," Natalia said, tossing her long curly violet hair over her shoulder. "Maybe all the power will go to his head."

There was a collective chuckle from the group as they felt the tension in the air being released.

"Vixen! Be quiet!" Jasper turned to his wife with a glare, but mischief playing in his dark eyes, "You say another word, I'll blow you sky high!"

"See, Iri? This is the kind of leadership you're leaving us with?" Natalia said, her violet eyes twinkling.

"I'm sure you'll work it out," Irishiko said in an amused tone.  "The four of us will move out before dawn then, and I want you to leave around mid-afternoon of tomorrow, Jasper. With any luck we'll all arrive in Zaibach at the same time."

"Sounds like a good plan," Byron stood up, stretching his arms over his head and yawning. "That means I get to sleep in tonight."

Irishiko shook her head at the man as Ero smirked. 

"What are you talking about, Byron?" he said to other man, "You're going with us out to the docks of Asturia tomorrow morning."

Byron's face fell. "What? Why do I have to go? Why can't Ran or Karia go?" he whined.

"Because Karia can't handle all the horses on the way back and Ran has to be here to make breakfast," Ero answered simply.

Byron groaned and started mumbling about how he never caught a break.

Everyone was starting to disperse to get ready for the operation when a voice spoke up.

"Aren't you forgetting something, Irishiko-sama?" Ephrye raised her amber eyes to the older woman.

"Ooh, the Ice Queen has spoken," Pye whispered to Ran who tried not to laugh.

Nineteen year old Ephrye LeRon had followed in her brother's footsteps and joined the Akan a little over a year ago. Like her brother she was tall and thin, with super straight black hair that was cropped in a very short bob, a longer part of it covering the left half of her face. She was known as the Ice Queen by a few of the males of the Akan, since she was the perfect CCC, as her brother was, and hardly spoke a word to anyone. Her weapon of choice was a long black leather whip that had been a gift from her mother. (Don't ask.)

Irishiko raised an eyebrow at Ephrye. "Really? What have I forgotten?"

"I was under the impression that you said Korin had mentioned the involvement of King Van Fanel," the girl responded flatly.

Irishiko groaned inwardly. She hadn't forgotten about that, but she'd been hoping to avoid the subject. Dealing with royalty was a hassle she was not in the mood to undertake right now.

Jasper looked to Irishiko, knowing all too well her dislike for the upper classes, but knew that this issue would have to be addressed.

"You can't leave him in the dark about this Irishiko," he said. "It is his wife that has been kidnapped, after all. Someone needs to keep an eye on him so that Korin doesn't force him into a bargain that will ruin Fanelia. And you know what Korin is capable of. There are those who would give half of Gaea to get their hands on Fanelian resources and you know it."

Irishiko sighed, "I don't know how we're going to keep an eye on him without all this leaking out. None of us can afford to be caught in the palace with him. If you recall, there are warrants for arrest on all our heads in half of Gaea."

"Not to mention that King Van is not one to just sit back and let things happen," Ran spoke up. He quickly tied back his wavy shoulder length brown hair before continuing, "He'll probably want to come with you."

"I think that would be a good idea," Ero spoke up.

"No, it's not," Irishiko countered.

"It's the only way it would work, Iri-sama."

"Really? How do you figure? This will blow everything if the _King of Fanelia is with us! Don't you think more than one person would notice that both the royals of Fanelia are gone? It would ruin everything!" Irishiko argued, her patience growing thin._

"What would ruin everything is if Korin got to him before we do!" Ero retorted, also becoming irritated at his leader's stubbornness. "And Korin can't get to him if he can't find him!"

Irishiko was about to snap back at him when a hand came down on her shoulder. She looked at Natalia who had a worried expression on her face. "Iri, calm down. You're not thinking rationally. Korin knows he could get to you this way and break you. By giving in to your emotions about this, he's winning. You know what Ero is saying is true. You would have thought of it yourself if it weren't that you're so emotionally involved."

Natalia smiled kindly, "Be the leader we know you are. Don't let him break you. Think about what's the right thing to do."

Irishiko closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. Natalia was right. Korin was trying to break her by opening old wounds that he knew never healed. He wanted to kick her down, and there she was, playing right into his plan. 

She squared her shoulders and held her chin high. She wasn't going to give that bastard from hell the satisfaction of beating her.

"You're right. Ero, I apologize. I was acting childish. Of course we have to take the king with us, it's the only way this will work. I'll speak to him tonight and we'll proceed as planned."

Irishiko looked up look at all her friends, her only family. They all held in their eyes undying respect and devotion for her and she was not about to let them fall apart and shatter everything they stood and fought for because of this trivial thing.

"That is all," she said softly and turned to jump from the wagon just as the sun slipped under the horizon, silhouetting her figure as she walked away.

"Okay, what's really going on?" Pye asked turning to everyone else with his hands on his hips, "There's more to this than anyone is saying."

The four older members of the Akan turned their glances away uncomfortably.

"WELL?" Pye demanded.

"I don't think it's for any of us to say," Karia spoke up in a sad voice.

Ero crossed his arms and frowned. "I agree with Pye. I would very much to know what's underlain in all this. There should be no secrets between any of us. Not when it concerns our mission as a group."

Byron shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Jasper and Natalia who looked as if debating with themselves. 

The oldest man finally sighed and turning to his wife, he said, "I guess it's time to tell them." "Though I'm not sure Irishiko is going to like this," he said more to himself than anyone else.

Natalia stood before everyone. "Alright, kids. I guess it's time for a history lesson."

When everyone had accommodated themselves to a spot on the floor Natalia began to speak.

"Eleven years ago, a young woman named Irishiko was in search of a swordsmaster. She knew about the art of fencing, but wanted to master a regular sword. On the borders of Asturia she found Mohku Maeo, man only in his mid twenties, but an expert with the sword. He agreed to become her swordmaster and so it was for a year during which they had fallen in love and married. By this time they had moved to Zaibach, and finding the corruption in Gaea too much to bear, they met up with a young couple with explosives expertise, a petite girl with deadly arrows, and five others."

Natalia smiled as she recalled the memories. 

"Together they fought to better people's lives the only way they knew how, thus becoming the brightness in the night. The ten of them fought for some years, and Irishiko and Mohku had a son. This boy, named Ehli, grew to be a beautiful child, quickly befriending all of the Akan."

Natalia paused here and looked to Byron for a moment, "I recall the newest member of the group, a talented blonde swordsman, was especially fond of the boy."

Byron lowered his head, a sad smile playing on his lips and his eyes watering. He had indeed loved the child.

"But as any of you can tell," Natalia continued seriously, "The life we lead is a dangerous one. Five years ago, an enemy had found out where the Akan had been staying in Basram. While the group was out on a mission, Ehli had been left in the care of the trustworthy innkeeper. Later that night, the group returned—"

Natalia had to stop, her voice breaking, memories flooding her mind. Her husband laid a sympathetic hand on her shoulder as she sat down, letting Jasper continue the tale while she let tears slip from her eyes.

"The building was ablaze," his raspy voice resounded, "There no survivors from the flames. We were all devastated." Jasper glanced at Byron, who still had his head down, but he could see the young man trembling.

"Some days later, Mohku was captured by a man named Korin, a man who had lost faith in the human heart. He wanted to put an end to the Akan and threatened Irishiko. She, though grieved, knew that the Akan's missions were more important for the good of people and refused Korin. He killed Mohku that same night."

Jasper stopped then, letting the shocked silence settle on the others of the group.

"Korin had not been responsible for the death of her son, but she never got over the passing the man she loved," Jasper said quietly. "Now, Korin is once again trying to push her down so that the Akan's work will end, and he's doing it by pushing her emotionally."

After a moment, he spoke up once more, "She's a strong woman, your leader. Others have always come before herself, and even though this is  very difficult to deal with, all she wants is to continue with the mission she and Mohku had resolved when all this began."

Ero felt tears of compassion sting his eyes. He looked in the direction Irishiko had walked off to, digesting the information he had received. 

_So that's it…he thought, __That's__ why she wants to deal with this by herself. She doesn't want anyone else to fall into Korin's hands._

Ero's brows furrowed. He wasn't going to allow anyone to hurt her again, not as long as he still had air in his lungs. He would keep her safe, no matter what it took.

~*~

TBC…

Okay, y'all. Baracuda here. So those are the members of theAkan…I'm so in love with these characters…it's a pity that most of them won't appear again…I'll see what I can do about it. *laugh* I'm trying to update this as quickly as I can, so I'm sorry if this has taken so long. I'm very happy about how motivated I am to write this, and if everything goes as planned, it'll be complete by the end of the year….i hope…@_@;

I want to thank all of you that have reviewed so far….you guys rock! ::sends out collective hug::

--Youjibaracuda

"Let me explain…no, it's too much, let me sum up…"

---_The Princess Bride_

On to the next chappie! ¬_¬ ------                                                     ----                                              ----V


	7. Seven

© December 2002

DISCALIMER:  Yeah, okay. I don't own Escaflowne. Too bad, so sad. But this plot and new characters are mine! MINE!!! BWHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!! ::clears throat uncomfortably:: Read on.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Seven~*~

"Iri-sama?"

"Yes, Ero?" the woman turned to look at the red haired man.

"Where are you going?"

She frowned. "I must go have a conference with his Majesty," she said simply. 

It was dark already, and Irishiko thought it best if she tried to approach the king under less…formal circumstances. It was not in her best interests to be caught before actually speaking to him. She just hoped that when she found him, he wouldn't directly turn her over to the authorities that wanted her captured.

She climbed onto her spotted mare and adjusted her mask and dark cloak. It was made of an unusually thick but light material, the color that appeared to be black, but shimmered green. Her black mask was simple and covered half of her face, her brown hair swept back and a dark burgundy 'do-rag around her head.

"I need you make sure no one follows me," Irishiko told her second in command.

Ero nodded, untying his own horse and mounting.

They silently made their way towards the entrance of the city.

"Make sure everything's ready for us to leave," Irishiko said to him quietly. "I'll meet you seventy paces off the main road on hour before dawn. I want us to be at the docks before morning." (B/N: in this case; one pace is approx. one ft.)

Ero agreed quietly and they said nothing more. He threw her a sidelong glance, debating with himself to take this opportunity to express his regard for her.

_Don't be such a selfish jerk! his brain cried out to him. __She's in no emotional state to deal with your confession right now! _

The argument within his mind that then ensued didn't allow him to take note of the glaze that came over Irishiko's eyes as they were riding. Her pace never faltered, but it seemed as if she were off somewhere in her own thoughts, trying to deal with all the things that were going on in her life.

When they arrived at the city gates, they stopped.

"Good luck," Ero was able to manage.

Irishiko said nothing and moved into the city silently. Ero waited until she was a good way in front of him before following her. Korin's men were in Fanelia and if it was found out that Irishiko had gone to speak with the king, their plan might fail. He was to trail her from a distance in order to make sure that she was not followed.

The city was still had some activity, since it wasn't that late, but it was limited to taverns and such. Ahead of him the palace seemed eerily quiet and dark with the exception of a few lights here and there. All in all it was a peaceful night.

Irishiko arrived at the palace gates and then quickly disappeared from Ero's sight. He waited near a side street for a moment before turning around to make his way back to camp.

He hoped that all of this would work.

~*~

Irishiko narrowed her eyes as she looked around at the spot she had landed. It was harder than she thought it would be to scale the palace walls. It was bad enough that the Fanelian palace was elevated higher than the rest of the town (that slope was helluva hard to climb), but the slick walls made entering the palace all that much harder (but obviously not impossible).

She pressed herself flat against said wall, hiding in the shadows as she heard the sentinel walk by. She had to be careful not to be seen by the guards.

Her eyes scanned other the palace, searching for the room that belonged to the king. It wasn't too hard to figure it out, since out of all the windows that lined the palace, there was only one where there were two guards standing under.

Irishiko didn't think that getting past them would pose too much of a problem, but getting into the room would be another situation all together. The balcony to the room was three stories off the ground, and, even if she had rope, there was no way she could scale that wall.

She frowned as she prayed for a solution. Time was running out.

A triumphant smile played on her face as she noticed the huge tree that could easily lead her right onto the balcony. Praise Fanelians for their love of nature.

Cautiously she made her way up the first couple of branches of the mighty plant, being extremely careful not to rustle the leaves so that they would make too much noise. Thankfully, there was quite a bit of wind blowing over the area at the moment, so she was able to take advantage of a particularly strong gust to rapidly climb higher. She looked for a strong supporting branch that could lead her as close as possible to the balcony, and when she found it, she made her way across it.

Hanging on to another branch, Irishiko looked down at her target. She would have to make a jump of about three paces over and six or seven down. Making the jump was not the problem. The problem was landing without the guards below being alerted to her presence. She carefully pulled out a small little noisemaker that Jasper had given to her a long time ago, for when she ever found herself needing a distraction. It was small and round and would make a loud popping sound whenever it hit the ground. Though she was in an awkward position to be throwing anything accurately, she was able to throw the little ball a good ways away from the palace wall. Sure enough, the noise caught the guards' attention, and when they ran off to investigate, she jumped down to safety.

Irishiko moved rapidly away from the edge of the balcony and proceed to make her way inside.

Her eyes took in the finely built bedroom with the Fanelian insignia hanging over the fireplace. This was definitely the king's room…but he was nowhere to be seen.

Irishiko stepped inside and searched for the man, but he was nowhere. She silently cursed her luck. How was she supposed to talk to him if he wasn't where he was supposed to be?

Just then cold steel touched her throat.

"Move if you want to die," a deep voice spat from behind her.

Irishiko didn't move or say anything, but realized that she had made the mistake of letting her guard down.

"Who are you and what are doing in my bedroom?" the voice continued in a demanding tone.

Somehow she wasn't surprised that her assailant was none other than Van Fanel himself.

"I'm not an enemy, Your Highness," Irishiko said flatly, continuing to face forward, but with a relaxed, unthreatening stance.

Van moved around to stand in front of her, the point of his sword still at her neck.

"I don't really believe that," he said, "After all, you did come in here through the window."

Without warning he pulled back the hood of her cloak and a shocked expression momentarily crossed his features.

"And a woman no less."

Irishiko bit back the smart remark she was going to reply him with, but instead raised her hands slowly.

"If you allow me, I will show you I have no evil intentions in coming here," she told him.

He said nothing, seeming to consider her offer. He removed the blade from her neck, but kept it raised in front of him, ready for any surprise.

Irishiko slowly untied her cloak and placed it on the floor. Kneeling beside it, she removed her sword and placed it over the cloak as well as the dagger she kept in her boot and the tiny blade inside the cuff of her shirt (just incase she was ever captured and bound).

She stayed in her bowed position and kept her head lowered. 

"I offer no harm to His Majesty," she stated, even though she hated having to grovel. She found it demeaning and awfully pompous, but she needed him to trust her right away.

Van looked at the masked woman that was kneeling before him. He had quickly discarded the idea that she was after his life because if she was able to get past his guards and into his room nearly undetected, she would have been able to kill him already had she wanted to.

He lowered his sword, but didn't sheathe it (he still had to be careful).

"Please, stand," he ordered her to which she quickly complied, squaring her shoulders once more.

"What are you doing here then?" Van asked her.

"I came to offer my assistance," she said.

Van raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? At night? By sneaking into my room? Couldn't you wait till morning?"

"I'm going to need you trust me."

"I find it hard to trust someone who won't show me their face."

"I must pay penance, milord."

"Penance? What could you have possibly done?"

"That, will all due respect, is none of your concern."

"Very well. Give me your name, then."

She hesitated for a moment. "Irishiko Maeo."

Something about that name sparked something in Van's memory. Then it dawned on him.

"Maeo…of the Akarui Kon." Van raised his sword once more. "You're pirates wanted in half of Gaea."

Irishiko inwardly groaned. This was not going as well as she had expected. Never the less his comment angered her.

"We are _called pirates."_

"Isn't that what you are?"

"What you are called and what you are are two different things," she replied coldly, "Just because you are _called a demon, doesn't mean you __are one."_

Van was a bit taken back by her words. She was right. He had no right to be accusing her of something that he had no idea about. In fact, from what he had heard about the Akan, they were on the side of good.

Irishiko sighed, "I've seen your wife—"

"You're the ones that took her?!" Van placed his sword to her throat once more and got dangerously close to her. "If I find out that you've hurt her in anyway, so help me, I **will** kill you."

Irishiko clenched her jaw and met his glare. He was living up to his reputation of being short tempered, but her patience was beginning to wear thin. King or not, she wasn't about to put up with his attitude.

"I will have you know that the notion of me being a kidnapper is insulting," she growled at him. "Furthermore, if I had taken her, I wouldn't present myself before you now, would I?"

Van was in no type of emotional state to think very clearly, but the rationalization that she had brought up made his behavior embarrassing. There was no reason for her to be here had she kidnapped Sezarina, for it would rob her of anonymity that is essential to a kidnapper.

"If you didn't take her, how could you have seen her?" Van asked, still not moving.

"I would appreciate it if you took the blade from my neck and let me explain," Irishiko said.

Van reluctantly stepped back and lowered his sword, waiting for her to speak.

"The man who took your wife goes by the name of Korin. He's a wretch whom with I've had a rivalry with for years. He is adamantly opposed to the cause I fight for and has been looking for a way to defeat me. Unfortunately, Your Majesties were caught in the crossfire of this old dispute, which I'm ashamed to admit could have resolved long ago," Irishiko explained. 

"Well then what does he expect to accomplish by taking the Queen?" Van asked.

"What he wants is a ransom," Irishiko told him.

"I can pay whatever he wants," Van responded.

The masked woman shook her head. "He isn't going to want money. He's going to want to keep you in his pocket. But more importantly, he's going to force you bring Fanelia to join the rest of Gaea's corruption. I can't begin to tell you the amount of people that would pay whatever it took to get their hands on Fanelia's natural resources. He'll ruin everything you've worked so hard to protect your people from and what'll make it worse is that he'll make it seem like it was your idea. You'll be hated even after you die."

Van took in a sharp breath.  He moved to a chair in front of the fireplace and dropped into it, rubbing his temples, and letting his sword clatter on the floor. If what she was saying was true, this whole situation was going to get worse before it got better.

"You said you had seen her?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes, Korin let me see her when he baited me this afternoon," Irishiko fished something out of her pocket and made her way over to stand before him. "She's alive and well and I have no reason to believe she's in any immediate danger. But I cannot guarantee that the situation will stay that way for long. The one who has her is unpredictable."

She opened her palm and Van looked at the ring that lay within her gloved hand, recognizing it as Sezarina's. He just stared at the Fanelian insignia for a while before removing it from Irishiko's hand. The weight of the ring also seemed to bring with it the weight of reality; the reality that she was really gone and this was not a freakish dream.

Irishiko stood in an uncomfortable silence, part of her knowing that she was wasting time by just standing there, and the other part of her trying to be compassionate with the man before her that was obviously in shock.

Deciding that there was no time for pity, she broke the silence. "I have been able to form a plan. What Korin wants is an inventor that has been taken by the CeJalii. The condition was that I bring to him the inventor in exchange for the Queen, and he has given a period of seven days. If I have not completed the mission by then, it is probable that she will die."

Irishiko keeled down in front of him before he had a chance to say anything. "My plan that can have us back here in about five days with the inventor. I don't plan to give Korin his way, and that's all I can tell you for now. However, it is important that you come with me."

Van didn't understand. "You want me to come along?" he echoed. 

Irishiko nodded.

"Why?"

"The only way Korin can't get to you is if he can't find you."

Van thought about it for a minute. It was reasonable. Besides, he couldn't just sit around and do nothing but wait. At least this way he would feel that he was doing something to get things back to normal.

"Alright, I agree to come with you. But I have children, you know," Van told her. "I won't leave unless I know they are safe."

"How many do you have?"

"Three."

Irishiko paused for a minute, surprised. She hadn't expected the king to have more than one. This complicated things a little more. It was harder to hide three kids than just one.

"They cannot be found in the castle," she stated. "Is there someone who can trust absolutely whom they can stay with?"

Van nodded. "Yes, I'm sure I can arrange it."

Irishiko stood up and moved to replace her weapons in their proper place and drape her cloak over her shoulders once more.

"No one must know about your departure," she told him. "Not your council, no one."

"I understand. When do we leave?"

"Immediately."

Van raised his eyebrows at her, but said nothing.

He got up from his chair and made his way over to the door that lead out to the hallway. After signaling Irishiko to stay out of sight, Van opened the door.

"Bring Lady Merle here immediately," he told the guard standing outside. 

The man complied, going out in search for the cat woman.

Van made sure the guard was gone before motioning Irishiko towards him.

"I have to make all of the arrangements first, but this is your chance to get out of here unnoticed," he whispered to her. "I can meet you in two hours."

"Outside the main gates, then," Irishiko said.

He nodded in silent agreement, and Irishiko slipped into the hallway and disappeared. 

Van closed the door once more and then moved over to a desk where papers were scattered. He shoved them aside and picked up a blank piece of paper and began to scribble away on it.

Just then the door of his room opened and a tall form slipped inside unnoticed.

"You wanted to see me?"

Van nearly jumped out of his skin. 

"Merle! What have I told you about sneaking up on me like that?!"

Merle shrugged, having the same mischief that had always played in her midnight eyes.

"What's up, Van-sama?" she asked, ignoring his earlier comment.

Van's face became grave. "I'm going after Sezarina."

Before Merle could say that she would accompany him, he held up his hand to stop her.

"You're not coming. I need you to take the kids."

Merle swallowed hard. "You're going after her alone?"

"No, not really," Van said as he sealed the letter he had been writing with the royal seal. "It's complicated, and I don't have time to explain."

"But, Va—"

"Just trust me, Merle."

Merle shut her mouth, knowing better than to stand in Van's way when he was resolved to do something. And from the looks of him, Van had a plan. She would just have to trust that her friend would be alright.

Van stood up and placed both hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Don't tell anyone else what I've told you okay? It's important. Promise me?"

Merle silently nodded.

Van smiled meekly at her, and grabbing her wrist, led her outside and down the hallway.

He pulled his advisors out of their beds and into an emergency meeting.

"This is what is going to happen," Van said when they had all gathered in the council room, most of them rubbing the sleep from their eyes. "I want the heirs of Fanelia out of the line of danger. I will take them to a location that will be unknown to all but my steward, Lady Merle and I. Things around here are to continue as if nothing has changed so there will be no suspicion from anyone that we are gone. After a week's time I will return, though the children will stay there until this whole thing has been resolved. During that week, all communication with me will go through Lady Merle _alone. I will give her instructions to give to you, and you will respect them. __Nothing will be done unless I give the order. Is that understood?"_

There was a chorus of "yes"-es, which was a real shock to Van, considering his council argued **everything**. 

"Very well. We will be gone by morning," and with that Van dismissed them all.

"Maybe you should have midnight council meetings all the time," Merle giggled behind Van. 

~*~

TBC…

::giggle:: Baracuda here. Okay, first of all thanks to all of you that have reviewed this story. You people rock! Yeah!

 \ m /    

     \__.                 ß my little "rock on" figure

 okay, so I'm going to try to update this at least once every two weeks…even though I have finals coming up this week and the next….i have two term papers to write (which I haven't begun) and a Japanese oral and written final…@.@

But I have everything ready with this story, with twists and turns and a couple of surprises that wait only to be written!

 Next chapter: The mission commences! What are they going to do? Will they make it in time? ::biting her nails:: just wait and see!!! 

See ya latta, my skittles! ^_^

--Youjibaracuda

"Son, someday all this will be yours!" ::gestures out the window::

"What? The curtains?"

_---Monty Python and the Holy Grail_


	8. Eight

© December 2002

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Escaflowne. I know, it's a bummer, but if I've learned to live with it, then so must you. Read on.

All I need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Eight~*~

Sezarina tried to get comfortable on the small cot that was in her cell. She had been trying to get some sleep for the last few hours, but to no avail. She had been captured only this morning but she felt like she had spent an eternity in this four walled room. She was fuzzy on the details of her getting here, but she did not recall ever meeting her captors. She was confused, but surprisingly enough, she was not afraid. Just bored and…lonely.

Loneliness was a feeling she had gotten used to over the years. Being married to a person that you don't love means being lonely. It didn't bother her as it once did, the reason probably being her children. At this moment she missed them terribly. Kiross' strong will was her strength, Gavin's loving heart was her spirit, and Varie's quiet gentleness was her hope. She never thought she could possibly love anyone as much as she loved those three and she longed for nothing more than to have them in her arms once more. Surely her husband would find a way to bring her back safely as soon as possible, she had complete faith in him.

Van…

She hadn't expected him to change her life the way he had. There wasn't anyone she felt closer to and yet at the same time he was a complete stranger. Their relationship was very…complicated. He confided in her completely and she always made sure to be there for him whenever he needed her. She cared about him deeply and she knew that she was a special part of his life, yet she knew she would never be loved by him in that special way.

No, he had Hitomi for that.

Sezarina didn't complain though. She and Van were family, and together with the kids and Merle, they formed a happy little circle within the confines of the castle. 

When she had first come to Fanelia to marry the king, they were both only nineteen. It was a very uncomfortable situation for her, since he had lived a very sheltered life, being the daughter of the Count of Kanbrim in Cezario. Her father had sent her away to the other side of Gaea during the War of Fate to stay with a distant relation that took it upon themselves to educate her in 'the proper way to be the mistress' of an important house. She had never had the chance to find a romantic type of love and wasn't even exactly sure how to act around a man because, being an only child, she did not have any brothers to gain understanding with. On top of all that, she had heard the stories of the war. She was well aware that she had been chosen to be King Van Fanel's wife for the simple reason that she resembled the seeress from the Mystic Moon. Sezarina had been told the story of the love between the girl Hitomi and the Fanelian king. Van himself had told her the exact details of it all the very night of their wedding.

Sezarina had felt an enormous amount of sympathy for him then. There he was, a young man who had sacrificed everything he wanted for the sake of his country. She had told him on that occasion that he should do whatever he believed necessary to make their situation less strenuous and that she wouldn't mind it at all. 

So it was that Van continued to have a long distance relationship with Hitomi. 

Van had told his wife about the communication between himself and Hitomi. She understood that the Mystic Moon girl was the sole owner of his heart. She knew that there were times when Van would look at her and he would compare her to Hitomi. That he would lock himself up in his study for hours just to think about her. It didn't bother Sezarina that when he held her he was imagining her to be his dear love, or that the name on his lips at night was not her own.

So it was that loneliness was not a new or unfamiliar feeling for her. She had almost come to cherish it as an ever-present companion in her life.

Such were the thoughts running through her mind as she looked up to the starry Gaean sky she could see from the tiny hole in the high ceiling. 

Just then the door to her small cell opened and a man slipped inside quietly shutting the door behind him. 

Sezarina sat up quickly, a thousand terrible thoughts running through her head as the man approached her.

"Oh, you're awake," he said gently. "I thought you might have gotten to sleep already."

He moved closer to her and bent over to peer into her face.

Sezarina calmed down when she saw his soft honey colored eyes that held kindness within them.

"I didn't frighten you I hope," he continued.

She smiled sheepishly, "Just a little bit."

He smiled back at her, "I'm sorry about that. But I want to let you know that I mean no harm to you. I was sent to check up on you. You're not hurt in any way are you?"

Sezarina shook her head. "No, not really. All I have are some bruises here and there, but nothing too bad."

"Good. Here," he said, holding up something to her, "I also brought you a little something. I didn't think they would have given you much for diner."

It was true. She had only been given a piece of bread and a glass of water for supper, so she gladly took the fruit that the man had brought for her.

"I wish they would have treated you better," he said looking around at her accommodations. "My cell is a lot nicer than this."

Her green eyes went wide. "You're a prisoner here?"

He smiled at her surprised expression. "Well, yes and no. I am a slave to Korin, the man who had you brought here. In a way I am free to go about this place as I wish, but I am a prisoner because I cannot ever leave. It's a complicated situation."

The queen nodded, somewhat understanding. Fanelia outlawed slavery, but it was not an uncommon thing elsewhere on Gaea.

"That's my lot in life I guess. I just wonder why it is you were brought here, I—"

The young man, who looked to be in his early thirties, seemed to have remembered something suddenly and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"Tell me do remember drinking anything earlier that might have made you feel a bit queasy?" he asked urgently.

Sezarina was surprised at the question, but now that he mentioned it, she did recall feeling a bit nauseous after drinking that water, but it had passed quickly so she had thought nothing of it. She told the man this and he released her, cursing to himself.

"I'll be right back," he then told her as he slipped from the room once again, seeming to be able to find to open the door from the inside without much of a problem.

The queen was not sure what to think of what had just happened. It was all very strange that this man had suddenly come to see her, but she felt that she could trust him, and that he meant her no harm. It was good to find someone like that in this awful place. Maybe he could help her escape.

He returned quickly with a tiny vial and a glass of water. He handed her the items and intruscted her to drink both as quickly as possible.

Seeing her puzzled look, he explained, "Korin most likely gave you a poison of somekind. This is an antidote to the all of the poisons that Korin can make. There aren't many he can make, but they are deadly and extremely painful. Fortunately I know he also was able to make one antidote for all of them. I was able to slip some of it out for you. He won't notice the difference until it's too late."

Sezarina felt an awful sensation in her heart when he mentioned that she had been poisoned, but immediately took the remedy offered to her.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him after, finishing the water.

He smiled gently at her. "I've been watching you for a while, through there," he pointed to a spot in the wall where the one way window was, "You remind me very much of my wife. I know I wouldn't stand it if she was treated this way. You don't deserve to be here. The least I can do is make it better for you while you're here."

"You're very kind. But, can't you get me out?"

The man lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry. I can't."

With that he turned around and was making his way out.

"Good night," he said to her over his shoulder as he opened the door.

"Wait!" Sezarina called after him. "Can you at least tell me to whom I owe my thanks for saving my life?"

He looked into her eyes with a sort of regretful sadness.

"Mohku. My name is Mohku Maeo."

~*~

TBC…

::gasp::  am I evil or what? 

Baracuda here. I'm *so* sorry. Sucky chapter, not nearly long enough, but there you go. I've been out of town w/o my computer so I've had no time to write. I was barely able to get this out at all. ::sigh:: hopefully the next part will be up soon. Check back at the end of next week. Till, then, have fun, stay somber (or at least as close as you can), and long live anime! LOL ^_~

--Youjibaracuda

"My way is not very sportsman-like."

 ---_The Princess Bride_


	9. Nine

© January 2002

DISCLAIMER: I don't own escaflowne. Too bad, so sad. But , hey, life goes on. All I own are the original characters. Read on. 

All I need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Nine~*~

Van rode out towards the meeting place about an hour or so before midnight. He had just seen Merle off with his children and his steward (who was posing as Van for the trip since no one was supposed to know what Van was really up to) and he was now heading for the city gates. He had made sure to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, donning a simple dark red shirt, a pair of brown breeches, and a dark cloak to cover his features. The only thing that could possibly identify him as a royal was his sword, the one thing he could not leave behind. He even rode on a horse with an ordinary saddle. 

The amazing amount of freedom he felt then was elating. True, the circumstances surrounding this new liberty weren't pleasant, but for the first time in years he was free to do what he wanted without his title weighing him down. Here, there were no advisors, no pesky meetings, no servants hanging all over him, no nobles looking him up and down making sure he was always the proper royal he was supposed to be. No, here there was none of that. Here, he was just Van.

He reached the gates of the city, but not finding a living soul, decided to slowly trot his horse around the area, so as not go too far and also not look too conspicuous. His eyes peered out into the still night from beneath his cloak, looking for any sign of the woman who was supposed to help him, praying to the gods that this had not all been some sort of trap.

Then there she was, trotting beside him, having approached without his noticing. 

He was about to question her when she spoke.

"Do not direct your attention towards me until we are far enough away from the main gates," she said in a hush voice. She sped up her spotted mare, and moved in front of him a distance as the trotted out into the forest along the main road. 

When the road bent and turned away from the city's view, the woman slowed her pace to fall in time with his own horse. 

"Where are we going?" Van asked, wondering at their slow pace since she had mentioned earlier how important time was. 

"We are going to meet a few of my men a little ways off the road just ahead. From there we will travel to Ezgardia by way of the Asturian Sea. I will tell you further details as they are needed to be known."

Irishiko turned to look at him, though he could not see her face through the cloak that covered her face additionally to the mask that she wore. He doubted he could have read her expression anyway, so he simply nodded and they continued silently along. 

Just then she stopped and held her hand up for him to be quiet. She seemed to be listening for something. 

Van moved his hand over his sword, ready for anything.

Irishiko, on the other hand simply gave a low short whistle and waited.

A similar whistle was heard about off to their right, and Irishiko motioned for Van to follow her as she led her horse into the now thick woods.

She stopped as soon as they were out of sight of the road and quickly dismounted.

"We're not late I hope," she said out loud.

Van looked around, but found no one to whom she could possibly be speaking to. He was about to ask if she had gone mad, when a rustling sound was heard above them, and a young man jumped out from a tree just ahead of them.

"Not at all. We only just got here ourselves," a tall man with red hair addressed Irishiko. Van saw three other men appear from the shadows, and Irishiko appeared to know them all. Van supposed that this would be their traveling group.

"Good evening, Your Highness," the red head addressed Van with a slight bow. "My name is Ero. These are Ivan, Pye, and Byron, and I know you've already become acquainted with our leader. We are at your service."

"Thank you. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it," was all Van could say in response.

"I see he brought a horse too," the platinum blonde man spoke to Irishiko.

"You can handle it Byron," the woman responded flatly. "Now let's go. The sooner we leave the sooner we can get back."

She climbed back on her horse, and Ero quickly got on behind her.

Van noticed that the two other men were also on a single horse and they got ready to depart.

"As Ero told you, my name is Byron, and for the next couple of hours, I'm your riding buddy," the man said with a smile.

"It is best that we ride single file with as little horses as possible to hide our numbers in case we are tracked," Irishiko explained to him in a flat tone. "And since Byron knows where we're going I suggest you let him take the reins."

Van frowned at the idea, but found logic behind their methods, so he did not pose an argument. These people were going to help him and he didn't want them to change their minds.

He offered his hand to Byron to help him onto the horse.

After Irishiko made sure that everyone was ready, she clicked her mare into a fast gallop and they were on their way.

The rode at a quick pace, single file, Irishiko and Ero in the lead, Byron and Van following, Ivan and Pye bringing up the rear.

No one spoke at all as they cut their way through the dense forest and Van couldn't help but admire the way that they were covering a lot of ground very quickly. He took note of the fact that if they had taken the road, it might have taken a lot longer. 

As they rode along, Van looked at the people he was with. They all seemed fairly young, the oldest probably being himself and Irishiko. From what he could tell, that Ero guy was most likely a second in command to Irishiko or something like that. There were only six of them there, including himself, and he knew that the Akan was composed of ten members, so he assumed that whatever it is that they were going to do involved only part of the band. Then he let his mind wander as they continued along, only stopping once or twice to let the horses rest (during which time not much was said).

Finally, they came out of the forest and neared the road that led towards the docks of Asturia just as the sun was rising above the Eastern waters. The continued toward the docks, but did not take the road. When the first ships came into view, the party stopped and all dismounted. 

Irishiko swung over her shoulder a bag of supplies that they had brought with them and looked to Byron, who nodded to her and mounted her spotted mare after tying together the two other horses.

"I'm very sorry, but Byron will have to take your horse," Irishiko explained curtly to Van. "We can't risk a Fanelian breed to be found here. But don't worry, we'll have it returned to you when all this is over."

Van told her he didn't mind, but stroked his steed's head before letting him go. 

"This is where we part, Your Highness," Byron said to Van quietly.

"Please, just call me Van," the king answered. "But aren't you coming with us?"

Byron shook his head. "Got duties elsewhere. But I'm sure we'll meet someday again. Have a safe journey."

"Don't get lost," Ero whispered in a playful tone.

"Only you would do that," the blonde responded before making his way off.

Irishiko watched that he had safely re-disappeared into the forest they had come from. 

"Ivan, Pye. Secure transport," she ordered, "Don't forget to take off your masks. We don't want anyone to even suspect about this."

The two young men quickly obeyed, and Van finally got a good look at all of them in daylight. Ivan and Pye had removed their black masks, and as Van watched them stroll casually towards the harbor, he couldn't shake the feeling that they looked very familiar. But where were they going? If they were looking for the CeJalii, they would have to head to Ezgardia and the best way to travel to Ezagardia, especially if they wanted to go undetected, would be to cross through Asturia and head into Ezgardia from the North. That road was on the other side from where they were, near Allen's place. So what were they dong at the harbor? He decided that it was time for some more details before things went any further. 

"We shouldn't be here if we're trying to get to Ezagardia," Van commented to Irishiko in a low voice while crossing his arms. "We should be taking the Northern road that goes from Fanelia through Asturia and into Ezagardia. I even know someone who could help---"

"No," Irishiko cut him off suddenly. But composing herself when she saw Van's face darken, she amended, "I didn't even want you involved in all this. The more people know, the easier it'll be for Korin to find out what we're up to. So, though I…appreciate your suggestion, Your Majesty, I know our plan will work."

Ero looked uncomfortably between Irishiko and Van. He knew that she despised dealing with any nobility partially because of their bothersome habit of believing they were always right. The king of Fanelia apparently was no exception. So Ero decided to cut in and smooth things over before one of them lost their temper.

"Korin would expect us to take the route you mention because it would provide the best cover for us who are outlaws. But that route would take about three days going and another three coming back, days which we don't have. We could do it, but it would be cutting it too close. However, it's a little known fact that the fastest way to Ezgardia is cutting across the ocean. We could be there and back in about two days. Besides, Korin would never expect us to risk the open ocean where we could be caught easily. This way we gain the advantage."

Van looked to the masked red head as he processed the information. It made sense to him, and added to that, he didn't feel like he was being pushed around either. Van decided that he liked this Ero, the young man possessed a simple, straight forward but friendly manner that Van found pleasing. He was sure they would have no trouble getting along, nor did Van sense any trouble would come from the other two men. The only possible problem he saw was with the only female of the group. Hopefully things wouldn't get ugly. 

Irishiko clenched her jaw and fought the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation. She really hated royalty, but she decided she should concentrate at the task at hand. Her eyes were focused on the ships in the distance, waiting for a signal.

But then she saw Pye make his way back in their direction and stopped to casually lean against a building.

That was the signal that they had a problem.

Irishiko silently brought the situation to Ero's attention and he motioned to Van to follow them as they made their way inconspicuously over to where Pye was. They didn't want to attract unnecessary attention. 

"An old friend found us," Pye said casually looking to the direction of the local inn.

Irishiko's eyes quickly followed Pye's gaze and landed on a band of coaches that were stationed not too far off. It didn't take her long to recognize who they belonged to.

"Dryden wants to see you."

~*~

Dryden Fassa had made his way through life as best he could since the days of the War of Fate. He began as a commoner, no one really knowing his origins, since he never spoke of them and never used his last name. But in no time at all he succeeded in becoming one of the best tradesmen on the Northern part of Ezgardia and Cezario, and was quickly expanding to Zaibach and Asturia. He somehow managed to get around most of the corruption that existed within most of the countries, lamenting the deplorable conditions of the people of Gaea. Somewhere along the line he met up with the Akan, having known both Irishiko and Mohku Maeo from before. He was one of their greatest supporters, and in turn they helped him. Even after the loss of her family, Irishiko kept Dryden as a trusted friend, and was looking to help him regain the throne to Asturia. 

Though Millerna and Dryden's marriage had never legally ended, Dryden did lose all rights to the throne through marriage to the Princess. King Aston eventually died, and Millerna was placed on the throne. Unfortunately, it was the popular opinion that women were not meant to be leaders, and in the absence of her husband, the still young queen was caught within a web of decit, lies and treachery, those of the Asturian court holding her in such a way that the poor girl ended up being nothing more than a puppet. Millerna sought out Dryden, and even though they reconciled their differences, he was not allowed to come and serve his duty as king. Irishiko was working directly with Dryden, (and indirectly with Millerna and Eries) to put Dryden on the throne. Irishiko was of the opinion that if a strong leader that Dryden could be was placed on the Asturian throne, this dark and dismal time on Gaea might diminish and someday bring peace. 

Irishiko was reminded of all the times Dryden had helped out the Akan, as well as herself personally as she walked down the still dark street in the direction of the inn Pye had pointed out.

"We don't have time for this," Ero whispered to her.

"I know, but we have to," the masked woman responded. "He's gotten us out of too many tight spots for us to dismiss him."

Van remained silent as he took in this new information. He hadn't seen much of Dryden, but they did often correspond to each other. Van found Dryden's knowledge and advice to be very helpful to him and Van valued him very much as a friend, perhaps even more so than even Allen. Not only that, he might even turn out to be extremely helpful in their situation, so Van decided to overlook that fact that they were doing exactly what Irishiko had said they wouldn't do a couple of minutes ago. 

They entered the inn, and the keeper directed them to the private study that was towards the back of the building, into which the entered unceremoniously.

A tall man in his late thirties, turned to them as he heard them enter. His dark spectacles flashed in the dim light in the room, his long wavy hair pulled back, thick and dark with the exception of a few gray hairs near his temples.

He smiled his characteristic playful grin and he gazed at his visitors.

"Irishiko Maeo," his rich voice sang out as a roguish smile pulled on his lips. "When I caught sight of the Pye's blue hair, I knew that you couldn't be too far off."

He gracefully bent down to kiss her gloved hand and nodded a greeting to Ero.

"I would have expected you to be halfway to Zaibach by now, though," Dryden continued.

"Something suddenly came up," Irishiko told him.

Dryden, however was focused on the third cloaked person with them. His eyebrows then raised in recognition, "Van Fanel? You were the last person I would have expected to find with these hooligans."

Van nodded his greeting to the older man, but remained his usual quiet self. He had always preferred to be an observer, though there had often come circumstances that thrust him in the middle of things. 

"Yes…" Dryden directed his attention back to Irishiko with a secretive smile. "Fancy that."

He knew very well that the situation was uncomfortable for her, but he would still take the opportunity to tease her, even just a little.

"We're in a hurry, Dryden," Irishiko ignored the man's implications and attempted to glare at him to get him to be serious.

"You must be," he commented, "I've never known you to be an early riser."

Ero stifled a laugh as Irishiko's eyes narrowed.

"So, you've had a sudden change of plans," Dryden observed, "It must be something very important since the king of Fanelia is with you. I also see that not all of the Akan are here with you, so whatever you have to do must be equally secretive."

"So I also assume you know not to ask any more questions about it," Irishiko said, smirking just a little despite her annoyance that Dryden had seen right through her. It was one of the many irritating habits the man possessed that were overlooked because he was an old friend.

Dryden raised a curious brow. "I thought you knew me better than that," he said.

Irishiko's eyes went hard. "We're having a problem with Korin," she had curtly.

Dryden's aloof attitude suddenly turned serious, which somewhat alarmed Van since he had only ever seen Dryden act that way when situations were extremely grave. 

Just what are they up against?

"He's up to his old tricks again, then?" Dryden asked dryly.

"The stakes are higher this time and the game is harder to play," Irishiko responded. 

Dryden glanced at Van for a second before moving to his desk and grabbing some sheets of blank paper and an ink well.

"You're going to need a ship," he said as he began scribbling away.

"To Ezgardia, right away," Ero spoke up.

"Ah," Dryden answered, still scribbling, "Taking a short cut."

"We also need to be brought back right away," Ero added.

"Travel for five?" Dryden asked, placing a seal at the bottom of one completed letter and beginning another. 

"Six on the way back," Irishiko told him.

Dryden smirked as he wrote. "I see."

He sealed the second letter and handed both to Irishiko.

"You need to be undetected," Dryden stated, "So I'm giving you the use of my ships. No one will question their travel, so you should have no problems. Give the first letter to the captain of a ship called _Zephyr. They're headed to Ezgardia within the hour. The second letter you keep for the captain of the vessel __Malaises that is due to arrive back here in Asturia from Ezgardia in two days."_

"That will be perfect," Irishiko said, wordlessly giving her thanks to the merchant.

" 'Out of sight, out of mind' or so the saying goes. You'll be traveling below decks. Not what you're used to Van," Dryden addressed the king, "But it's the best I can do."

"I don't mind," Van said in return. "We appreciate whatever you can do."

Irishiko handed the first letter to Ero.

"Find Ivan and Pye, tell them what to do," she instructed.

She turned back to Dryden. "This time we're going to beat Korin at his own game."

Ero gave his thanks to Dryden and he dragged Van along with him to find the other two men.

"Iri," Dryden called the woman as she was about to make her way out.

 She turned her jade eyes to him questioningly.

"He's smart, Iri," he said gravely, "He's going to figure it out."

Irishiko stared back at him expressionless. "I'll have to be careful then."

Dryden heaved a deep sigh and shook his head.

"You better be," he said as he lifted his brown eyes to look at her masked face. "Because you're going to fall into your own trap."

~*~

"The captain said we could board right away," Pye told Irishiko as they all made their way to the merchant ship _Zephyr. It was a fairly large ship, and Irishiko was positive that it would serve their purposes. _

"He said we were confined to the second, third and fourth decks and that our sleeping quarters were on the third," Pye continued.

"What are they carrying?" she asked.

"Wood and building materials," Ivan responded.

Irishiko nodded as they boarded the vessel.

Ero and Van followed, the latter staring out in fascination as the morning sun sparkled on the midnight blue sea.

"I take it you don't see the ocean much," Ero commented.

Van shook his head. "I've only seen it a couple of times. This will be my first time traveling by ship."

Ero nodded as they all stood there gazing at the water for a while in silent awe.

"All right, let's go," Irishiko commanded them, breaking the moment, as they made their way below decks.

Ero tapped Van on the shoulder and motioned for him to move. He threw a lopsided grin at the king.

"You don't get sea sick, do you?"

TBC…

Oi, I can just see Van turning green….eww….puke…….;

Hey y'all! Baracuda here. I'm sorry this chapter sucked. But I had to add my favorite Esca character: Dryden! ^_^ I'm also *so* incredibly sorry I haven't updated the way I was supposed to. There's just too much to explain, but needless to say, I'm behind schedule. So we'll se how this goes…please stay with me people because the end is near! (well, not _that near, but there is a definite end coming soon)_

THANK YOU TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're the reason we're all still here. 

(at the very end I'll list all of you)

--Youjibaracuda

"You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is: never get involved in a land war in Asia, but only slightly less well known is this: never go in against a Sicilian when _death is on the line! Aha ha ha--- ::bonk::"_

---_The Princess Bride_


	10. Ten

© January 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Esca. Okay Go "Get over it".

~*~TEN~*~

Van gripped the edge of his bed so tightly his knuckles were white. He had one of his arms draped over his eyes, grateful that at least his stomach had settled considerably but still trying to calm the massive headache he was feeling. 

They'd been traveling all day, and the sun had set behind them a couple of hours ago. After finding their rooms this morning, the group had decided to have some breakfast and then get some sleep. After that, Irishiko and Ero had gone off somewhere to check out what supplies they had and track down anything they would possibly need. Ivan and Pye disappeared at about noon and had yet to return. So Van had been left alone, something for which he was grateful for, considering how he was feeling. 

_'Van?'___

The raven haired king perked up at the sound of that voice. 

_'Hi Hitomi.'___

_'Do you feel better today than yesterday?'_

_Yesterday?__ Van thought to himself. Had so little time passed? It seemed to him like it had been an eternity since the last time he had talked with Hitomi._

_'Let's just say I've had better days,' _Van responded, to which she giggled.

_'You find my pain amusing do you?'_

_'No I don't.'_

_'But you're laughing.'_

_'Because you're seasick,' _she giggled again. _'I just have a hard time imagining you turning green.'_

_'Yes, I'm sure my change in pigmentation is very amusing,' _he said sarcastically. _'How did you know I was seasick anyway?'_

Van sensed a second of alarm of her part, but it quickly passed so he hardly even noticed it. 

_'I can feel your dizziness,' _she responded. _'And when I found your mind you were thinking that you wanted the boat to stop.'_

Van couldn't help but laugh at her remark. _'You know you're not supposed to intrude on other people's thoughts.'_

_'Seriously, Van. Is everything okay? Why are you on a boat? Can't you tell me what's going on?'_

The king sighed deeply. _'I wish I could,'_ he said honestly, _'But I don't even understand it very well myself, so I don't think I could explain it to you.'_

_'Maybe I could help you understand it, Van.'_

_'No, Hitomi, just…I'd rather not, alright?'_

There_ was a weird sort of silence until Van heard Hitomi sigh._

_'Alright, Van if that's what you want. But just know that I'm here if you need me.'_

_'I know. Thanks.'_

_'I got to go.'_

_'Bye, then.'_

_'Van?'___

_'Yeah?'___

_'…Nevermind. I'll talk to you soon.'_

_'Miss you already.'_

_'Cute, Van,'_ she replied sarcastically, '_Hey…be careful.'_

_'Aren't I always?'_

_'Shut up.'_

_'Go.'_

_'I'm going…jeez, pushy…'_

Van smiled as he felt himself being left all alone once more.__

"How are you feeling your Majesty?"

Van lifted his arm to see Ero standing in the doorway.

"I've been better," he answered, "And I told you to call me Van."

"Yes, maybe I should," Ero chuckled. "We wouldn't want anyone to suspect the king of Fanelia do we?"

He moved closer to Van and held up a plate of food he had in his hand. "So _Van," Ero stressed his name playfully, "Are you up for some dinner?"_

Van groaned. Breakfast had not been a good idea and lunch had proved equally unsuccessful. He wasn't about to bother with dinner.

"Thanks, I think I'll pass," he told the redheaded man. 

"I figured," the other answered as he moved over to sit on the bed opposite Van's. "That's why this is for me. I will say that you look better than earlier."

Van merely grunted in response. "How much longer is this going to take?"

"We should arrive sometime around midday tomorrow at the latest. We're actually making excellent time, considering everything. Don't worry, Van. You'll get over the sickness in a little while. On the voyage back, I'm sure you won't even feel it."

The mere mention of another voyage made Van queasy, but he said nothing.

Ero and Van were sharing a make shift room, as were Pye and Ivan, while Irishiko got a room for herself (being the only woman of the group). All were comfortable with the arrangements, since they couldn't really complain about it even if they didn't like it.

"You haven't seen Ivan and Pye by chance have you?" Ero asked as he ate.

Van moved his head to look at the younger man. "I haven't seen anyone since after lunch."

"It figures," Ero said. "Those two are always off somewhere getting into trouble."

Van raised an eyebrow. "Ivan doesn't seem like that kind of person."

Ero snorted as he swallowed a bite of food, "You'd be surprised."

"You know there's something about those two…" Van trailed off as Ero looked at him curiously.

"What about them?"

"I just can't shake the feeling like I've met them before."

"That's because you probably have," Ero said simply.

"What?" Van asked. "I think I would have remembered meeting them."

Ero shook his head. "We don't go to Fanelia too often, but we did a couple of times last year," he looked at Van directly, "And if you don't remember them, they did their job correctly. They're recon.  Their job is to get the information we need, so they're meant to be trustworthy but easily forgettable."

Van sat up and held his head as the room spun for a second and the familiar rocking motion returned. "I see."

"Though you would think with Pye's blue hair, more people would remember him," Ero said with a laugh. "It drives Iri-sama crazy."

"How do you put up with her anyway?" Van let it slip out before he realized what he had said. He hadn't meant for it to sound so insulting.

Ero looked at him strangely for a second. "I don't let myself be intimidated by a strong woman," he said simply.

"That didn't come out the way it supposed to," Van loosely apologized. "It's just that I've never met someone so …"

"Stubborn?" Ero supplied as he finished the last of his diner.

"For lack of a better word, yes," his companion answered.

Ero leaned back and lay on his bed with his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. "She isn't always like this. You've just got to cut her some slack. She's a bit tense with this whole situation."

"If anyone should be tense don't you think it should be me?" Van asked.

"You don't understand how deep this goes for her," Ero said closing his eyes, "Besides, if she's like this it has to do a lot with you."

"Me? What ….?"

"It's fairly well known that Iri-sama doesn't like nobility too much."

"Really?" Van said.

"Royalty in particular," Ero told him. "See she pities the nobles for being slaves to their positions, yet she hates them for upholding that slavery. But royalty she just hates."

"That doesn't sound very fair," Van said.

"She has her way of seeing things. She thinks that royalty has the power to break away from the slavery of the title. Yet they choose not to, even if it means the suffering of others," Ero responded. "She figures that you have the power to change who you are and what needs to be done with your life, yet you chose to continue in slavery and enslave others as well by your example."

Van frowned. Is this the idea that Irishiko had about royalty, about him? Something must have happened to her to make her think this way, since if she knew anything about his position, she would know that he as king was bound to his people first and foremost, and that he could not be selfish if he wanted to be a good leader. She should know that, being a leader herself. However, Van thought, in her line of work, she must see her fair share of corrupt politicians and puppet kings as make her think they were all alike. He would have to do what he could in this short time to convince her that he was different.

"There must have been something that happened with Iri-sama to make her think that way," Ero whispered lightly, almost to himself.

"Can you tell me anything about her?" Van asked.

Ero looked over to the king with a raised eyebrow, wondering why on in heaven's name would Van want to know about the leader of the Akan.

"Or we could talk about when you're going to tell her," Van supplied when he noticed Ero's hesitance.

The redhead shot up to a sitting position and looked intently at the king. "What are you talking about? Tell her what?"

"That you love her," Van said simply.

Ero's jaw hit the floor immediately at his companion's response.

"I-I don't know what you mean," he stammered once he found his voice.

Van looked at him skeptically. "You don't even believe that," he said, "It's not terribly obvious, but I can tell."

Ero remained speechless as Van continued, "I'll give you some advice. Don't wait too long to tell her how you feel. One day, it'll be too late and she'll be gone, leaving you alone and kicking yourself never letting her know."

Ero recovered finally and noticed the older man's slightly bitter tone. "You sound like you speak from experience."

Van met Ero's grey eyes with a sad smile, "You could say that."

The younger man swallowed loudly, extremely uncomfortable with the fact that Van had figured out how he felt about Irishiko so quickly. For goodness sake, they'd only known each other for less than a day! But he realized Van had a point. He wanted to tell Irishiko, he really did. He was just waiting for the right time to do it, but the time never seemed to come…and one day it may be too late.

He looked over to the king, "You know, things aren't that simple."

Van shrugged. "They should be."

"You don't understand," Ero said. "She's married."

Van flinched. "Oh. Sorry…she just…doesn't look it. Where's her husband?"

"Well, technically she's a widow. The situation between us is very difficult," Ero continued, now speaking his thoughts, seeming to forget Van was even there, "Her husband was already dead when I met her, and after I joined the Akan, she and I had a very professional relationship. She trusts me completely, and we're now good friends. After everything we've been through together I'm not sure I want to risk losing our friendship…"

The redhead sighed deeply, running a hand over his face. 

"Besides," he continued, "I don't think she's ever really stopped mourning the death of her husband. I know she still wears her wedding ring and she always has a black sash tied around her waist. I just don't think it would be right for me to impose my feelings on her."

After a bit of silence, he looked over to Van with a small chuckle. "I don't know why I'm even telling you all this."

"Sometimes it's easier to talk to strangers about personal things because you know that you probably won't ever see them again so you don't have to live with the knowledge that they might tell your secrets to the people you know," Van observed. He remembered Hitomi had mentioned something along those lines once while she was studying in school. Psychology or psy something or other.

"Hn…" was all the other man said in response.

"Hey, Ero! Van!" Pye poked his blue head through their doorway. "How are you feeling Van?"

Van rubbed his forehead, indicating he was still feeling a headache. 

"Well, Irishiko-sama wants to see us all in her room right away," Pye informed them before disappearing once more.

With a deep sigh Ero stood up and walked to the door. "Coming?" he asked Van.

The raven haired man stood up and followed Ero down the hall to Irishiko's room.

Walking inside they found Ivan and Pye already there, and Irishiko was sitting in a wooden chair, as always her face unreadable because of the mask she wore. Van was beginning to wonder if she ever took the thing off.

When everyone was inside, Ero closed the door and leaned against the edge of a small table that was next to Irishiko which held her sword just at her grasp.

"When we arrive in Ezgardia, we're not going to have much time," she said matter-of-factly, "So this is how things are going to go. Ivan and Pye, as soon as we land, I want you to find out where they're keeping Lancen, and as soon as you do, find me right away. Ero will be securing supplies, and I will be speaking to the captain of the vessel where we will return as well as seeing if I can find out what CeJalii want with Lancen, and if Korin really had anything to do with this so we won't be walking into some kind of trap. At nightfall, we'll have to move quickly so that we'll be ready to leave as soon as the ship does. I assume everyone understands what is expected of them?"

"Sure thing, boss," Pye said, while Ivan simply ran a hand through his hair and gave a nod.

"No," Ero suddenly spoke up. "Let me go with Ivan instead. Pye can take care of what we need."

Irishiko raised an eyebrow at him in surprise, but gave her consent.

"What do you need me to do?" Van asked since he noticed she hadn't mentioned him at all.

Irishiko tilted her head to look at him, maybe for the first time bringing her eyes to momentarily meet his.

"You are staying out of sight," she said simply. "I don't want you doing anything."

Van's temper flared. "What?! You really expect me to come all this way just to do **nothing**?! I thought _you _were supposed to be helping _me_ get my wife back, and now you expect me to just come along for a ride?"

"Wrong!" Irishiko yelled back at him, her own patience having reached its limit with Van, "You're here in order for you to be out of Korin's reach, which is exactly why you're going to stay out of sight! It would ruin everything if the CeJalii or one of Korin's informants got their hands on you, or worse yet, you would go and get yourself killed!" 

Van walked over to where she sat and stood towering over her. "Don't you dare insult me by implying that I'm careless," he said with a sudden coolness. "And don't presume to order me to do or not do anything, since you have absolutely no right to do so."

Irishiko stood up to her full height, and (though the top of her head only reached his nose) she glared directly into his face.

"Don't **you** dare tell me what to do," she said in a dangerously low voice, "Your title pulls absolutely **no weight here. Kindly remember that you are here out of our good graces, since we are under no obligation to help you. And since you are currently my responsibility, you will do **exactly** as I say, no questions asked."**

Van was trying desperately hard to control himself, since he did not believe in hitting a woman, no matter how frustrated he was with this particular one. Putting his beliefs ahead of his pride, he turned on his heel and made his way towards the door.

"I didn't ask for your help," he muttered on the way out, "You came to me." With that he violently opened the door and stormed out of the room towards his own. 

Ivan was staring in an uncharacteristic manner at Irishiko, who apparently was also trying to control her anger. He had never seen anyone talk to her that way to before, and although nothing had happened right then, Ivan sensed that this situation was going to get worse before it got any better. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became too uncomfortable for him, so he decided to leave to his own room and see if he could catch some sleep since he figured he wouldn't be getting much of it in the next couple of days.

After Ivan left, Pye also exited saying he was going to go find some food, and left Ero and a very frustrated Irishiko alone.

The brown haired woman fell back into her chair and let out a growl.

Ero looked down at her when he heard her mention something along the lines of "damn men and their pride".

"Don't be so hard on him, Iri-sama," Ero said softly, sitting on the table top.

She covered her face with her hands in silent response.

"After all, he just wants to feel like he's contributing to getting his wife back," he continued. "Van isn't one to just sit back and wait for others to do things for him. He's different from the others."

"Doesn't he see that can't do anything?" her voice came out muffled. "That what I'm telling him to do is for his own safety? What good would it be to anyone if he got himself captured or killed? Not only would I feel responsible, but how would I explain it all to the Fanelians?"

She sighed and dropped her hands. "But he insists on having things done his way, which is so typical."

"You're not being fair to him," Ero came to Van's defense, "You've been judging him by your experiences with other royals. He's not like them."

She stood up and paced to the other side of the room, but not before Ero caught her saying, "Some things always stay the same."

"Iri-sama…"

"I'm just trying to do the right thing," she suddenly burst out, "And instead of being cooperative, he's irrational and stubborn!"

Ero stood up and moved closer to her.

"He's trying to do what he thinks is right," Ero said softly.

Irishiko turned to look at him. "Or maybe he just does it to get to me."

Ero shook his head. "He wants to do whatever he can to help get his wife back," he said, getting up off the table and taking steps towards her, "And I completely understand his sentiment. I…I would do the same for you."

Irishiko's eyes flew to his in surprise, but Ero wanted to keep going, thinking that it better to get it all out and over with.

"I care about you," he said, lightly touching her cheek, "And I would do anything to make sure you were safe, because…that's what you do when you love someone."

Ero looked into her eyes, wondering what her reaction would be, preparing himself to be slapped or worse…rejected.

"That's true," she finally said, bringing her hand up to cover his, "And I'm glad you reminded me of that fact."

She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, and with a small smile to him, she left the room.

~*~

TBC…

Okay folks. Baracuda here. Sigh another chapter! YEY! So now they have a plan…and Van and Irishiko have a…."difference of opinion"…lol…this next chapter promises to be juicy, so be on the look out for it! (I promise to go as fast as I can).

I just want to say thanks do all the wonderful people that have reviewed:

Equinox: I'm glad you like my story. I love sad romances, don't you? I'm a hopeless romantic and a huge V/H fan, but this is my first time wandering away from that subject. It's my first shot at writing dark, depressing, unconventional stuff, (I'm better at writing fluff) so I'm very glad you enjoy it.

Lady of the Ink: I love your reviews! They're always long and very helpful. LOL don't you love dark characters? But they are so hard to write! Rar! And it's extremely hard to write Van in character. The man practically says nothing if I stuck to character! (I'm pulling my hair out in frustration)…it's so much easier to write OOC….*sigh* why do I get myself into these things?

Illicit Water Dragon; RiverDolphin; Avaris Sky; Tydepul : THANK YOU *SO* much for being so nice to me! ^_^

SilverSeaStar: Don't you dare blow raspberries at me, young lady! LoL Well, my buddy, I'm glad you like this story. You know I love V/H but when this idea popped into my head (as twisted as it was) I knew I had to let you guys in on it. Don't you think it's a bit refreshing? Oh, and you can call Sezarina Rina or Zari, which ever you like best (I'll leave it up to you).

Cous-cous: I'm not totally ignoring you. I just can't tell you yet. BWAHAHA! I love writing cliffhangers, I just hate reading them, so I'm feeling very sorry for you. Haha. X-D

Maureen : I'm glad you're still reading this, and thanks for your forgiveness about no Hitomi. I won't stop writing.

Questionable Lies : I'm sorry about all the typos. That's what happens when you don't proof read.

Sailor Hope : The Princess Bride is the most quotable movie/book!(if you haven't read the book, find it NOW, I guarantee you'll love it) Please, don't be afraid to ask all the questions you want! ^_~ [youjibaracuda@hotmail.com][1]

Speaker of Spirits : Your are so gosh darn nice! You're not being obnoxious and rude with your suggestion (I think it would have been interesting) But it isn't necessary that Hitomi helps find Sezarina because Irishiko already knows where she is. And she has a plan. We've got to remember that this more about issues between Irishiko and Korin than anything else. Van and Sezarina are just caught in the crossfire for no (apparent) reason.

[Lightbrown97@yahoo.com][2] : I'll try to clear things up as soon as I can. (Within the next couple of chapters in think. I'll talk about Irishiko's past)

Cra-Z Kitty: I'm glad you're hooked! 

Oh, and Cece, all I have to say is: BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XP

::drunken slur:: "I will not be moved! I am waiting for Vissinni…"

---_The Princess Bride_

   [1]: mailto:youjibaracuda@hotmail.com
   [2]: mailto:Lightbrown97@yahoo.com



	11. Eleven

© February 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Escaflowne. Bandai does, and since Bandai is owned by Disney, Escaflowne belongs to Disney…DOES THAT SOUND WRONG TO ANYONE ELSE???????? *sigh* oh well. Read on.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~ELEVEN~*~

A few hours after sunrise the next day, the vessel _Zephyr docked in the port of Ezgardia. _

All of them knew what to do, and quickly went about their business; Ivan and Ero disappeared into the busy bazaar, Pye taking Van along with him to hunt down the necessary supplies, and Irishiko made her way over to the local tavern. She would need some information.

She entered the dingy place making sure that her mask and cloak securely covered her features. It was true that she hadn't been in Ezgardia in a long time, but she still couldn't risk anyone being able to quickly identify her.

She quietly walked over to the bar, making sure not to draw unnecessary attention to herself. It was just past noon, so the crowd in the tavern was considerably small, which was to her advantage. The only bartender was cleaning out some glasses with a rag at the other end of the bar from her. (B/N: every time you see a bartender, they are always doing that! *laugh*)  

"Vino," she said gruffly, dropping a few coins on the counter to draw the attention of the old man. He sighed heavily, not even looking up at her while pulling out a bottle of vino and a glass. He moved to her and placed the glass in front of her, moving to open the bottle. Just as he was about to pour the liquid, he found a small white flower in the glass. His eyes flew up to the form before him, his mouth twitching in a barely noticeable smirk.

"I'm sorry," he said putting away the glass and bottle. "I don't have the heart to sell you this garbage."

"Well then," she coolly replied, "I'll just have to find somewhere else where they will attend my business."

With that, she walked out the door and disappeared the way she had come.

The old man pocketed the money he had been given and made his way over to a little room just behind the back wall. 

"I'll be out for a while, so take over," he told a younger man that was inside snoozing, "I'll be back soon."

With that, he grabbed one of his best bottles of gabrion* and went upstairs to him private apartment. 

The old man was of an age sixty five, round pot belly taking up the majority of his stout figure. He had an easy going but quiet manner that made him easily ignored, which came in handy more often than not. He entered his small flat, and locked the door behind him. He moved to open the nearby window that looked out to the oddly placed small grove of fruit trees kept by the local grocer.

With a rustle of leaves, Irishiko appeared on the nearest branch, and with the ease that comes with familiarity, gracefully slipped into the room through the open window. 

"Still running around in trees like you were a little girl," the old bartender commented with a sigh and a shake of his head.

"I find them to be more convenient, especially in my line of work," she responded to him, brushing herself off. "And what you said before was the most absurd thing I've heard in my life, Joni. We both know you've got the best vino this side of Asturia."

The old Joni  chuckled as he brought two glasses to the table were he had left the bottle of gabrion and poured out the aqua liquid. "You didn't exactly give me prior warning to your arrival. You caught me off guard."

"You can't ever be caught off guard, Joni," Irishiko said, removing her cloak and mask, "You were the one who taught me that."

"That's very true, child, but it happens, none the less," he responded, handing her a glass. 

Irishiko smiled kindly at him. "It's always great to see you Joni."

"And you know how much it relieves me to see you in one piece, Shiko," the old man replied, using an old nickname for the woman before him. "Tell me, what brings you back to Ezgardia so suddenly? I wasn't expecting to see you around here for at least another season or so."

"Unexpected business," she responded carefully, taking a sip of the gabrion in her hand. "Have you heard much about the CeJalii lately?"

Joni snorted, "That's a ridiculous question, Shiko, and you know it. CeJalii are always in the tavern. And once they get drunk, they don't keep much of anything a secret." He sat down in a chair and motioned for her to sit in the one opposite him.

He looked at her while taking a sip of his own blue liquid. 

"What do you want to know?"

~*~

Van looked at the large vessel before him, the name _Malaises proudly displayed along its hull. It was a much larger ship than the _Zephyr_ on which they had arrived in, since it was taking large quantities of fine goods including fabrics, vino and gabrion. _

He just hoped that he wouldn't feel so sick on the ship this time. He had just gotten used to dry land again.

He looked toward the setting sun and marveled at how this day had been nothing but a blur to him. Just then, a hand clapped his back and Van turned to find Ero standing behind him.

"How was your day?" he asked in his ever playful mood.

"Can't really say," Van responded honestly. "Don't remember most of it."

Ero gave a short laugh, "I understand. I don't think I ever remember all I do in a day, it's so busy. Sometimes it's hard for me to notice when one day ends and another begins."

"Sounds like you could use a vacation," Van commented.

They were silent for a while before Ero spoke again.

"What's that?" he asked.

Van looked to him with a questioning glance. "What?"

"That's an unusual trinket. It almost looks like an energist," Ero said pointing at Van's hand.

Van looked down to find that he had been playing with the pendant around his neck, as he often did while he was thinking. 

"Yeah, I guess it is," Van said softly, staring at the small jewel as if it were the first time he had stopped to examine it. It hung from his fingers, the pink stone catching the last rays of the sun as it set over the horizon. This small little object was the source of much of Van's grief since it was a constant reminder of what he had given up. Yet he could never bring himself to be rid of it, having the constant need to wear it all the time because even though the object was his bane, it was also the only thing that could keep him close to the woman he so loved. 

Ero watched as Van got a sort of desperate look of sorrow in his features, but his eyes held a certain fondness for unusual jewel around his neck. Ero knew that Van had been through a lot in the past, especially with the War of Fate. Whatever it was, the object obviously meant something to Van, and Ero got the impression the king was not about to tell him about it.

Ero sighed and looked around at the large ship before them.

"So, where's Pye?" he asked.

"He went to find Irishiko since we assumed she's on the ship already," Van told him, breaking out of his trance.

"Also to find out what to do with this," he looked down at the large brown sack at his feet.

Ero frowned. "Just what did you buy? We didn't need that much…"

He began to dig around inside the bag, muttering to himself at how Pye was a compulsive spender and there was no way in hell that anyone could possibly use three different sizes of twine, and why on in heaven's name he had bought pastries, it was like he was going to a party and not a mission, etc, etc.

At that moment, Ivan materialized next to them, "What are you two doing? We don't have a lot of time you know."

Ero glanced up at the dark haired man. "Keep your shirt on. Is everyone on board?"

"Just come on," Ivan said, disappearing from their sight once more.

Ero looked to Van and shrugged before moving to board the ship. Ivan was waiting to take them down to the lower decks where Irishiko and Pye were already getting ready.

Irishiko glanced up at them as they entered a small, nearly impossible to find room on the third deck of the ship.

"It's about time you got here," she said tying her sword at her hip. "I don't know what Dryden wrote in those letters, but it seems we have most of the lower decks pretty much to ourselves."

Ero placed the bag he was carrying on the floor and began to empty its contents. "That's Dryden for you."

Pye finished sharpening the last of his daggers and threw one of them at the back wall. With a satisfied smile he pried it out of the dark wood and tucked it into his boot. "I love rescues," he said to Van.

"Stop showing off, Pye and just get the rest of the stuff," Ivan told him as he carefully arranged his darts in different parts of his person.

Van watched them all prepare, all of them hiding different weapons within the folds of their clothing in addition to other things. Irishiko had a small dagger inside her boot and what looked like fuse line tied to her belt. Ero was loading his cross bow as well as wrapping glass vials of oil in cloth and placing them inside a dark bag. "So they won't make any noise," he explained.

"So I take it you know where he is," Van stated.

"In an abandoned stable a couple of blocks from the docks," Ivan informed him.

"Seems too easy if you ask me," Pye mumbled.

"It could be a trap," Van inputted.

"Of course," Irishiko said tying her cloak around her shoulders. "And though Korin has nothing to do with this, we're prepared for anything."

"Damn straight," Ero piped up with a wiry smirk.

"All right," Irishiko said, moving to the door. "We have to be back here at least an hour before midnight, since that's when the boat leaves. If for any reason we were to get separated, or something should happen to myself or Ero, Ivan, you do what you can to get Lancen and His Majesty back to Fanelia and wait for us there."

She pulled the hood of her cloak over her head as the rest of them put their masks and cloaks on as well. Van securely fastened his own cloak thankful for his foresight in sharpening his sword last night. He was eager to get on with this since it had been so long since he had seen any real fighting. For the last peaceful years all he'd done was spar so he hoped his combat skills had not worsened any. 

Ero was the first to walk out the door followed by Pye and then Van.

"Just where the hell do you think you're going?" Irishiko's voice stopped him at the doorway.

He turned to find the woman with her arms crossed over her chest, her stony face showing her irritation with him.

"I'm going with you," he said simply.

"I thought this had been discussed in detail earlier," she replied icily. "You are staying here for your own safety."

"Don't pretend that you can tell me what to do," Van shot back at her, his temper flaring. "You are in no position to dictate what is safe or not, nor can you presume to have some sort of authority over me."

"This is **not** Fanelia, Van!" she yelled back at him, her patience snapping. "Right now we are playing by my rules, not yours! I have the responsibility to bring you back home alive and preferably in one piece. I'm considering your family and I'm not letting you do this!"

"I'm doing this for my family!" he raised his voice, advancing towards her. "The whole point of all of this was that. I'm not about to—"

"HEY! WHOA!" Ero, having come back, stepped between them before any of this got any uglier. "Both of you stop it right now. This isn't getting us anywhere. Van, I know that you have good intentions, but you're going to have to try to trust Iri-sama on this."

"Why should I?" Van asked crossly, glaring directly at the woman, "I've never even seen her face. How do you expect me to trust someone I haven't ever truly seen?"

"There are reasons for that, Your Majesty," Irishiko countered, "My identity is part of my past and my past is absolutely none of your concern."

"Do you really expect me to buy that?" Van retorted.

"HEY!" Ero yelled again. "We're wasting time."

"Yes, just let them fight it out," Ivan's voice rang out. Everyone else turned to look at the amber eyed man. 

He looked evenly at Van then Irishiko. "You're both good with the sword. Have a match right now. Whoever wins decides what happens."

Ero looked to Ivan with an incredulous look that matched Irishiko's but the ring of steel brought their attention back to Van.

"I accept," he said, his anger gone, instead replaced with a slightly cocky smile. His sword was unsheathed and he removed his cloak and tossed it over to the side. He had been trained by the best sword masters on Gaea with first Balgus and later Allen. He was completely confident that this would be over quickly.

Ero was about to protest this, knowing full well that Fanelia had been known for generations for its military might and training and though Irishiko was very good, he doubted she could win against Van. But he was cut short when Irishiko gave a low growl, but also removed her cloak and unsheathed her own sword.

"Let's get one thing straight right now. If you win, you get to do whatever you want. If I win, you stay here. Agreed?" she asked flatly.

"Agreed," Van responded.

The others moved gave them as much space as they could in the small room and watched as they faced off. 

TBC…

*gabrion is an alcoholic beverage common throughout greater Gaea and its taverns. It's pretty strong, a blueish-green tint to it with a tangy/bitter taste to it. It's a bit of a hardcore drink but it's consumed as often as vino, though the latter is considered to be more sophisticated. Oh, and FYI, I just made it up. ^_~

Baracuda here. How's everyone doing? 

::drops down on her knees:: I'm SO sorry for not updating like I promised!!!!!!!!!! I know I said I would finish this quick but it's becoming a lot longer than I had anticipated……and I'm having problems with my muse….my angst writing muse (named Daphne) my romance muse (named Soriah…which coincidently is the name of a classmate of mine but there's no relation) and my drawing/creative muse (named Jonas) are all arguing with each other about this fic…..and since I can't get them to agree about how to express the version of this story that is in my head, the updates are going a little slow. Add to the mix the absurdity of school and we have a fairly large problem. 

Yep yep…kinda like when Cece doesn't have her rice krispy treats…..not good. (I'll send you some soon, Cecil).

SO in light of that, I've given you this cliffhanger chapter. Hope you liked it.

THANKIES TO MY EVER FAITHFUL REVIEWERS! I LOVE YOU GUYS! THIS IS FOR YOU!!!

Tootles.

---Youjibaracuda

"We're safe! SEE?! ::points:: THE CLIFFS OF INSANITY!!!"

---_The Princess Bride_


	12. Twelve

© February 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Escaflowne. Shocker, isn't it? Read on.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~TWELVE~*~

"Iri-sama."

Irishiko kept looking straight ahead and didn't turn when Ero called her name.

"Iri-sama," he repeated, this time in a more urgent tone. He touched her arm to catch her attention.

"What is it, Ero?" she said with a sigh, glancing at him to see what he wanted though she knew what he was going to say.

"Don't you think it was a bit unfair what you did to Van?" he asked her.

Irishiko ripped her gaze from Ero's gray eyes and let a guilty look cross her features.

"What was I supposed to do Ero?" she asked in a low voice as she pulled out one of the vials of lamp  oil they had brought with them and carefully spread its contents on some hay that was in the loft where they were crouched.

"I wasn't about to let him come with us. You know that I hate dirty fights, but he was being so stubborn he left me no choice," she told Ero. "If something were to happen to him we'd all be left in a very ugly spot. I wasn't about to take on that kind of responsibility just because he felt like being the hero."

Ero sighed, knowing she was right but feeling sorry for Van. He understood that Van was just trying to do what he thought he needed to do to protect his family. After all, that was what all of this came down to in the end and if Ero was in Van's place he would have done the same. But Irishiko did have a point.

"He's going to have a hell of a headache when he wakes up. Not to mention be seriously pissed off," Ero commented.

Irishiko merely grunted in response and emptied the last of the bottle in her hand. She untied the fuse line hanging at her belt, cut off a fairly large piece and tied it to an oil drenched bundle of straw which she replaced within the pile.

"Done?" Ero asked.

"Let's go," Irishiko motioned, drawing her sword and making her way to a ladder and began a careful decent from the loft of the old stable, Ero following.

Halfway down the ladder, Irishiko stopped to look around the empty horse stalls wondering at the complete darkness around them. She finished her decent and frowned. She didn't like the looks of this at all. If this was indeed where Lancen was being kept, there was an incredible lack of security around the place and the whole building seemed as if it was abandoned. She had the ugly feeling like they were either wasting their time or they were walking into a trap.

"Iri-sama!" Ero called to her from a few stalls away.

Irishiko rushed over to him, ready for anything. She rounded the corner to stand next to Ero and let her eyes fall upon the figure before them.

There, gagged and bound was poor Lancen, clothes grimy and face dirty but otherwise he seemed all right. Ero quickly moved to untie him and helped him remove the gag.

"It's a trap!" the old man cried as soon as the gag was removed from his mouth.

Just then torch light flooded the area, and about a dozen men appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the group, trapping them within this tiny stall. 

But Irishiko and Ero were ready. They swiftly attacked, moving agilely through the group of men, kncking some down and taking couple of blows. They hadn't even really started fighting yet when a sharp whistle caught their attention.

"Put down your weapons!" the deep voice cried to them. When they made no inclination to follow his command, he stepped through some men until he came face to face with Irishiko and Ero, holding Lancen with a dagger at his throat. 

"You wouldn't want to have your trip be a waste, now would you?" the tall man sneered.

"Jordanii," Irishiko snarled as the light reflected off the man's face.

"Irishiko Ronin," the man responded with an equal amount of contempt. "It's so nice for you to come see me again."

Irishiko took a step towards him, ready to strike, but he pressed the dagger closer to Lancen's jugular. 

"None of that," Jordanii ordered. "Drop it."

Irishiko growled in frustration, but did as she was told. 

"You too," Jordanii told Ero, which the latter also reluctantly complied.

"Kick them away," Jordanii prompted. 

Irishiko and Ero kicked their weapons off to the side, earning a snicker from the men of the CeJalii.

Jordanii pushed the old man towards Irishiko and she caught Lancen before he fell forward into the floor. 

"It's such a pity that the reason of your visit would not have been for more personal reasons," Jordanii proceeded, "I honestly hoped that you would come to see things my way."

"I don't like to be around garbage," Irishiko spat at him.

The tall man sneered at her comment. "That's funny. Because we picked up some garbage just outside that belongs to you."

Just then two heavy set men walked in and roughly threw two figures at Irishiko's feet.

Pye and Ivan roughly stood up, each livid with anger. They were outside for backup just in case something happened. Apparently they had also been caught by surprise.

"Injuries?" Irishiko quickly asked them. 

"Pride," Pye responded while Ivan simply glared.

"Weapons?"

"Gone."

Irishiko nodded and looked to Jordanii once again.

"How did you know we'd be coming?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.

Jordanii snorted at her question. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I almost thought you weren't coming. I knew that you had special interest in this man. I just had to know how much interest."

Jordanii circled around them. "is he your father or something? Why is he so important to you?"

"You just can't possibly conceive that one person can care for another without ulterior motives can you?" Irishiko questioned. 

Jordanii stared straight at her for a moment before cracking a smile. "It really doesn't matter. The point was to get you here. And here you are."

"If it's me you want, let them go," Irishiko told him.

Jordanii seemed to consider it. He placed his hands behind his back. "Alright, I will. I'll let them go, if you and your first companion here stay. I promise, no strings attached. I'll even have my men here stand witnesses that no harm will come to them and that they are free. The one condition is that you have to give yourself to me."

All eyes of those of the Akan went wide. Pye, Ivan and Lancen were in shock, and Ero looked about ready to murder the man. Irishiko was enraged. How dare the bastard even consider such an agreement? But, she realized heavily, at the moment she didn't have much of a choice if she wanted to get Lancen back to Fanelia. She would just have to figure a way to get out of it on her own. 

She stepped forward to Jordanii and lowered her head, letting him snake an arm around her and press her close.

"Good girl," he whispered sinsterly.

"Not until they're safe," Irishiko spat through clenched teeth.

Jordanii looked to his men, signaling them to stay put and Irishiko turned to Ivan and Pye nodding for them to go. They knew what to do if this ever happened and she had complete faith that they would do everything in their power to finish this mission. At first they began to protest, but a look from their leader brought their silence, and they reluctantly moved out, taking a shaking Lancen with them.

There was quiet in the stable as the men of the CeJalii surrounded the remaining intruders.

"All of you leave now," Jordanii ordered. "You'll be rewarded for your efforts today."

Wordlessly the men disappeared as quickly as they had appeared leaving the three of them alone.

"Well, well, I never thought I would see this day," Jordanii's haughty voice rang out. He pressed her closer to him, keeping the point of his dagger at her neck, and ran her rough cheek along hers, taking in her scent. "All those years ago, when you were here being that Asturian Fassa's mistress, you refused me. But I told you that I would someday have you."

Irishiko could do nothing but glare.

Ero, on the other hand was positively livid. His hands curling into tight fists, murder written across his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of his crossbow, and like lighting made a dive for it, ready to strike the man to end it all right then.

But Jordanii caught sight of his move and spun Irishiko around, placing her body between him and Ero.

"I hesitate to kill her if you move again," he hissed, the cold metal of his dagger pressing into the skin of her neck. "I want you to get rid of your weapon right now."

Ero's anger was growing with each passing second, but he knew what Jordanii was capable of. With a heavy heart, he did as he was told.

The other man smiled a toothy grin. "If I didn't know any better I would think you had feelings for this woman," he said, "Not only is she your leader, but is she your lover as well?"

He leaned down to kiss her jawline. "That will make this more fun, don't you think?"

"Let him go, Jordanii," Irishiko kept her voice emotionless. "He has nothing to do with this."

Jordanii let out a loud laugh. "On the contrary, my dear, you should know he has everything to do with this."

He paused and looked to Ero's alarmed face. His eyebrows furrowed and he turned Irishiko to face him, searching her confused eyes. 

"Or is it possible that you don't know?" he said in a mystified tone. His eyes lit up when he found that she had no idea what he meant. He laughed out loud again, wondering at his luck.

"You mean to tell me, Shinero, that your lover does not know who you really are?" Jordanii addressed Ero once again.

Irishiko's mind had been working on a plan when the name 'Shinero' broke into her thoughts. She'd heard that name before, long ago…

"And don't tell me you didn't remember?" Jordanii asked her.

"Remember what?" she asked, glancing over to see Ero turning pale, but saying nothing.

"My half brother, of course."

Irishiko's eyes flew to meet Ero's. That's where she'd heard that name before! But it couldn't be…could it?

Ero lowered his gray eyes to the floor, not being able to meet her gaze any longer.

Now she remembered. That red hair…how could she forget that day? The day Jordanii had first cornered her inside Juni's tavern.

~*flashback*~

He had kissed her, let his hands wander over her while she tired to fight back, scared at the time, finding that no one was coming to her defense even though Jordanii's buddies were standing not far away snickering.

"Quit it Jordanii!" a young voice called out. A flash of red hair and she felt the repulsive man being pulled off her. She looked with surprise to her rescuer, a scrawny boy, no older than fourteen, glaring directly at the twenty three year old Jordanii. 

"You shouldn't be in other people's business, Shinero," an annoyed Jordanii spat at the shorter boy.

But the redhead was not moved. "Leave her alone. She's done nothing to you."

Jordanii ignored the boy and turned back to Irishiko and licking his lips. "Time for dome fun."

But this time she was ready for him. As soon as he moved close enough she brought her knee up and hit him hard between the legs, causing him to double over.

He cursed loudly and shouted threats to her as she hurried out of the place, rushing back to Dryden. She had been scared, but that boy, Shinero, had showed her courage. He had stood up for her, even though he had the disadvantage to the older, bigger and stronger Jordanii.

After that day, she wanted to be able to give others that kind of courage.

~*end flashback*~

Irishiko had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had not noticed that Jordanii had already gone to work. She found herself on the ground, with the vile man over her, still holding a knife to her throat.

"For abandoning your family you will watch this," Jordanii told Ero, as he removed Irishiko's cloak and began to work on her shirt. 

"Oh, by the way," he leaned down to whisper to Irishiko, "I like the mask. It makes all of this a lot more kinky."

Suddenly, Irishiko grabbed his collar and pulled him so close to her, their faces were nearly touching.

"I learn from past experiences," she said in a deadly tone, "It seems you don't."

With that she swiftly brought her knee up to hit him hard once again between the legs, making the cry out. 

There was a cry from Ero and then the sound of a sword handle making contact with a skull and Jordanii slumped entirely over Irishiko, unconscious.

"I know for a fact that he'll be out for a good couple of hours," a male voice said.

"Van!" Ero said, a mixture of relief and incredulity in his voice.

Irishiko pushed the unconscious man off her and quickly scrambled to her feet, closing her shirt, and swooping for her cloak, readjusting it over her shoulders, keeping her face hidden.

Van tossed Ero his crossbow, and moved to give Irishiko her sword.

"You can thank me later," he said, "And I'll be willing to overlook the little incident from earlier."

Irishiko kept her back to him.

"What are you doing here?" she asked coldly.

"Saving your life apparently," Van responded, getting the impression that she wasn't as glad to see him as Ero was. "I ran into Ivan and he told me where you were and what was happening."

"I had the situation under control," Irishiko responded.

"It sure as hell didn't look that way," Van shot back at her, starting to get upset. Just what was her problem? "What would you have done had I not come?"

In a second, Van found himself staring straight into her angry eyes, the dagger she had hidden in her boot now at his throat. "As you can see I do things my own way," she said in an enraged voice. "I told you before, you weren't supposed to be here because you're a goddamn liability!"

She swiped her sword from Van's grasp unsheathing it and holding up at arms length to his chest.

"Get him out of here," she told Ero, "I don't want to see him again until we're out at sea."

"Don't speak that way about me!" Van began, but Ero grabbed him arm.

"We don't have time right now," he told the king. "The ship will leave soon."

He began dragging Van out of the stables, and though the latter resisted at first, both of them disappeared into the dark night towards the docks.

As soon as they were gone, Irishiko went to work quickly. She ran up to the loft to grab the last vial of oil they had left and spread it over the stalls on the ground floor. Then carefully removing a bunch of explosives from inside her cloak, she placed them in the last stall of the stable. Distributing the remainders of the fuse line she had brought, she made her way outside and took out some matches. 

Her eyes then fell on the unconscious form of Jordanii sprawled out of the floor. Inwardly groaning but knowing she was not a cold blooded murderer, she managed to half drag him out of the stable.

She ran back inside and lit all the fuse lines, as well as throwing a match on a pile of hay.

By the time she made it outside, the place was already ablaze,  calling the attention of those near the docks.

Irishiko broke into a run towards the docks, making sure to remain unseen by those who were running to stop the fire. She ducked behind a building to catch her breath, and looked back in the direction which she had come. Just then a loud explosion shook the area as the fire reached the explosives she had set. 

Irishiko smiled as the large fireball in the dark sky caught the attention of startled people that rushed towards the scene. Their distraction had worked and so she was sure that none of the CeJalii could find out that she was gone. Calmly, she readjusted her hood and strolled towards the vessel that would take her back to Asturia.

~*~

The captain of the vessel was waiting for her as soon as she got on the ship, letting her know that they were about to set sail.

She nodded, and slowly made her way below decks.

"Iri-sama," Ero stopped her just as she reached the second deck.

"Yes, Ero?" she responded.

"I--," he swallowed nervously. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I—"

"Stop, Ero," she interrupted. "I don't want to know. Your past is in the past and there's nothing that can be done about it, so I honestly don't want to hear about it."

Her gaze became gentle, "You're here now, and you are one of my dearest friends. You're my family and I trust you with my life. There's nothing else that I need to know."

Ero felt the knot in his stomach loosen, her words dissolving his fear of her negative reaction to his past. What she said was true, and he had left all that behind him, just as he was sure that she had left something terrible in her own past. The present and  the future were all that mattered now, and he was going to make the most he could out of it.

Irishiko smiled lightly at him, giving his arm a comforting squeeze before walking past him to go to the third deck. 

She wanted to be alone, suddenly feeling invaded with exhaustion and also being filled various unidentifiable emotions that shook her, as if she was just now reacting to everything that had happened.

Tears filled her eyes as she made her way below, a strain in her heart. 

She had trained herself to remain emotionless, but she was only human, after all.

~*TBC*~

Baracuda here. *whew* another chapter done…..i'm tired……..but I'm going to keep writing!!! I hope you will keep reading! I'll update ASAP.

Yonde kudasai! ::bows at 45 degree angle::

Tootles.

--Youjibaracuda

"Don't be so hard on him. He's had a rough day."

---_The Princess Bride_


	13. Thirteen

© February 2003

**IF YOU HAVEN'T READ EVERY CHAPTER BEFORE THIS ONE, **DON'T** READ THIS ONE!! Go back and read, then get to this one…..**

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Escaflowne. But I am very proud to say that this storyline is mine, and I'm very proud of it. Read on.

This chapter is dedicated to all my readers…the number of which seems to be decreasing rapidly-_-; Thanks to those of you that are still here!!!

All I need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~THIRTEEN~*~ 

It was half past midnight as Van walked among the cargo of the ship, hoping to find some much needed thinking space, the silence of the area soothing. He had tried to contact Hitomi, but she had blocked their link, which most likely meant that she was working on something extremely important or she was in deep sleep (which he thought to be the most likely, considering the hour).

The ship had been at sea for a while now, and he was grateful that he didn't feel as sick as he had before. He'd always been able to adapt rather quickly.

Van had been wandering the ship in search of Irishiko, since, for the first time in a long time, he felt the need to apologize for his behavior earlier. 

He had thought about it all and he realized that she had done nothing but look out for his safety and he had treated her appallingly. But she wasn't anywhere to be found, though Van knew she was on the ship. 

He stopped walking and fell on top of a pile of fabrics covered by a rough tarp. He idly lifted the corner of the cover to find that underneath was a smooth silken material. He smiled a little, remembering that Sezarina was partial to those types of fabrics, since she found them delicate and beautiful, and just what a queen should wear. She really was more cut out to be royalty than Van ever could be.

The thought of his wife, however, didn't bring Van any comfort. He sincerely hoped she was alright. He could imagine she was scared, quite possibly hurt. He didn't want to think about the horrors that could be inflicted upon her. He could almost see a tiny little cell in which she would be kept, her clothes dirty and disheveled. He knew she would pretend to be strong, but she would quietly cry herself to sleep. The sound he thought he heard of absolute despair broke his heart.

But he had heard it.

Van sat up realizing that he **had** heard crying. He quickly stood up and looked around for the source of the pitiful sound. He walked silently around the mounds of fabrics, and the crates of other cargo on the ship, as the crying got louder.

He finally rounded a fairly large crate and found a crouching figure in the dim torchlight. He looked to the figure he recognized as a woman immediately, as her long brown hair cascaded down her back.

It was Irishiko, he realized suddenly. She was missing her dark attire, her usual wine colored blouse had been replaced by a cream colored one that fell loosely around her form since her sashes were missing; a pair of light brown pants covered her legs as opposed to the darker ones she usually donned, though she was still wearing her boots. Her sword lay not to far away from her on the ground. Before Van knew it, he found himself admiring her physique, realizing that the woman was extremely attractive. But all his ideas of her strength and power were slowly being shot down by the awful sound of her cries. She was cradling her arms to her chest, lightly rocking herself back and forth in such a manner that she obviously did not notice his presence. 

The crying of a woman had always bothered Van, but for some reason, Irishiko's crying made him despair and move to find a way to make her stop. 

He tentatively reached a hand out for her, his fingers lightly touching her trembling back.

In a flash, he found himself with steel at his throat and staring into a pair of livid green eyes.

Irishiko breathed a sigh of relief and dropped her sword from Van's neck.  
"Don't do that, Your Highness," she said in a raspy voice and a small sniffle, re-sheathing her sword before wiping here eyes, "If you keep sneaking around on people like that, you'll liable to discover something that could get you killed."

He said nothing, didn't move, but seemed to be paralyzed with his eyes wide. Irishiko looked at him strangely, wondering what was wrong with him, since he was just staring at her.

Van swallowed thickly and managed to gather his voice into a light whisper.

"Hitomi…?"

~*~

TBC…

Let me say one thing right now: It's not what you think.

Baracuda here. AGH!!! TOO SHORT!!!!! But pretty cool, ne? ^_~

I love writing cliffhangers.

Tootles. 

--Youjibaracuda

"Inconceivable!"

---_The Princess Bride_


	14. Fourteen

© March 2003

DISCLAIMER (which I know no one ever reads anymore): I don't own Esca. Read on.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~FOURTEEN~*~

"Hitomi…?"

Her breath caught in her chest for a second, but her eyes hardened and narrowed at him.

"Don't call me by a name that is not my own," she said, side stepping him.

He caught her elbow to stop her from walking away.

"I suggest you let go of me," she said flatly.

"Is it really you?" he asked her.

"I'm afraid you've mistaken me for some one else," she said, her voice slightly shaking, unwilling to face him, but breaking from his grasp.

Van quickly reacted, grabbing both her wrists and turned her to face him, trying to catch her gaze, but she kept her eyes to the floor.

"Hitomi," he said in a raspy voice. "Why are you being this way? Do you really think I could confuse someone else for the only woman I love?"

A tear slipped from beneath her lashes and she moved her eyes focus on his chest, her hands lightly leaning against him. By the look on her face, she was having in inner battle with herself.

"You're the one person that completes my soul," he whispered to her softly.

She let out a choked sob and flung herself at Van's neck, her tears quickly soaking through his shirt. He wrapped his arms around her, then feeling unexpectedly complete, as if something that had been missing for so long was now once again where it belonged.

Suddenly it registered in his mind what had happened earlier with that man in the stable. 

"He could have killed you," Van said out loud, "What's worse, he was trying to—"

She shook her head to interrupt him.

"It's over now. Please don't ever mention it again," she whispered.

"But Hitomi—"

"Just hold me, Van," she requested, her voice breaking, "Please, just hold me."

His anger disappeared at her words and Van couldn't be more pleased to comply, tightening his hold on her and stroking her hair gently while feelings of confusion, shock and elation filled him all at once. Van drank in the feel of her after so many years, remembering how he had wanted to hold her forever.

For a long time they stood in each other's arms, the only sound being the creaking of the wood and her soft sobbing. Eventually, that died down, and Van looked at her, only to find that she was asleep. He obviously wasn't going to get any answers to the zillion questions running through his mind. Not tonight, anyway.

He moved his arm underneath her knees and made his way out back up to the next deck.

Van walked to her room, gently placing her on her bed. Removing her boots and laying her sword next to the bed, he placed her on it and pulled the sheets over her gently.

He stared down at her for a moment, gazing at her sleeping face. The face he had etched into his heart wasn't different at all, with the exception of a diagonal scar that ran from her right eyebrow to the middle of her hairline. Her golden honey colored hair had turned into a dark chocolate brown that cascaded over her pillow and beautifully framed her face. He leaned down to place a kiss on her forehead and softly wished her goodnight.

~*~*~

TBC…

J/K!!!! do you think I would do that to you??? This was just a breather, so that you could recover from the previous scene. 

Okay, on with the show!!!

~*~*~

Van opened his eyes the following morning to find sunlight streaming through the small window of his room.

That was funny. He didn't remember his room having a window.

His mind sluggishly waded through the fog of drowsiness as he moved to get up.

However, when he found that he couldn't move, he looked down to find someone was clinging to him. He looked upon the head of brown hair when his slow mind recalled the events of the previous night.

~*flashback*~

Van leaned down to kiss her forehead and quietly wish her good night.

Suddenly, her eyes slid open and she reached to hang on to his shirt, keeping his face close to hers.

"Don't go, Van," she pleaded softly, "Stay with me."

Van looked into her deep green eyes, a loving gaze in them that he had missed for so long…

He couldn't refuse her anything.

Removing his boots and his sword, he slid into the bed beside her, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame, enjoying the way she nuzzled into his chest, heaving a deep content sigh.

Her rhythmic breathing was in time with his heartbeat, and they both surrendered to the bonds of sleep, each in the loving embrace of their soul mate.

~*end flashback*~

Van still couldn't fathom that he had Hitomi in his arms and that she had been so near him all this time.

She stirred slightly and moved her head so that her face was between his neck and shoulder, her left hand resting on his chest.

A small surge of heartache ran through Van when he saw the golden band that encircled her third finger.

Of course.

Hitomi had told him that she had gotten married. It had been only natural that she would. He recalled that she had told him about a year after his first son was born. But since she never mentioned it again, Van had forgotten about it.

He glanced at the golden ring that was placed on his own hand.

It had been a cruel twist of Fate that he couldn't have wed Hitomi. He knew that he had been asking too much of her, asking her to leave her family when they needed her the most. He often cursed his position and all it entailed. To be king meant to put his people before himself, which in his case meant that he had to give up his one true love.

Hitomi's soft breathing tickled his skin and brought a smile to his face. He carefully pulled out of his pocket the ring with the Fanelian insignia that belonged to Sezarina.

Van gently removed Hitomi's own wedding ring and replaced it with the royal one. He wanted to pretend, even just for this moment in time, that his wishes had been granted and have Hitomi bear a ring that he had given to her. He wanted to believe that this was their life: waking up every morning in each other's arms. Hitomi unconsciously closed her hand over his and held on to him as he closed his eyes.

And for that glorious moment in time, Van was completely happy.

Hitomi had the rare feeling of being completely content as her mind drifted away from its unconscious state. She opened her eyes to find herself in her bed, fully dressed and leaning against someone who smelt of open fields.

She lifted her head to look into the face of Van Fanel.

Her eyes went wide and she sat up and covered her open mouth with her hand after letting out a gasp.

"I thought you had been a dream," she whispered.

Van gave her a small smile, cupping her face in his hands. "You _were_ a dream for years. But now you're here. And I can't imagine anything else I could want."

She smiled back at him, her eyes once again filling with tears, as he squeezed her hand.

She winced in response and his eyebrows furrowed. "What's the matter?"

"My hand…" she trailed off looking down at the thin but obviously painful gash that covered the back of her right hand from her first knuckle to her wrist.

"Who did this?" he asked in concern and building anger at who would hurt her.

She giggled as she felt his thoughts. "You did," she said with a small smile.

Van's eyes went wide. "When?"

"Yesterday, remember? It doesn't hurt that much," she said with a smile. She brought her hand up to touch the back of his head, "And I hope I didn't hurt you too much."

Van narrowed his eyes, but a smile tugged at his lips. "You played dirty. You aren't supposed to knock people on the back of the head while having a sparring match."

Hitomi shrugged, "You were being stubborn, I had to do something."

"I must say you're very good," Van commented. "But you knew I was going to beat you."

"Be quiet!" she laughed lightly slapping his arm. "I could have beat you."

"No, you couldn't," he whispered to her, his expression now serious, reaching up to caress her face.

She looked into his ruby eyes and felt herself become entrapped within them. The amount of emotions flowing from him overwhelmed her, as if his soul was wordlessly reaching out to hers.

Her rational mind was screaming at her to get away from him before she gave in to her desires, before…

Their faces were so close, Hitomi could feel his breath on her cheeks. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips close in over hers. It was the most wonderful feeling that could ever exist and she promptly moved to kiss him back.

Van slid his hand behind her head and deepened the kiss. She ran her hands along his chest, sending electric shock to his system. He moved his tongue over her lips, requesting access which she gladly granted.

She was on her knees, pushing him back against the wall at the head of the bed, molding her body as closely as she could to his. She smiled lightly as she got the reaction she had expected.

As their tongues played tag with each other, Van wanted Hitomi closer to him, his arms around her keeping them locked in a tight embrace. He wasn't thinking at all, as if all normal functions of his brain had been melted away by his love's fiery touch. He couldn't get enough of her, doing what he could to make up for so many lost years of separation from her. Desire grew inside of him and soon he let his instincts take over, boldly letting his hands roam her body, to which she did not protest.

Since they both needed to surface for oxygen, Van removed his mouth from hers, breathing heavily, but he proceeded to brush his lips over her collarbone, making her shiver. As he administered to her neck and shoulders, she weaved her fingers in his hair, relishing in his touch.

Hitomi was taking rapid intakes of air as she looked up to the ceiling. In her head a thousands of thoughts were running a million miles per hour so that she couldn't register anything but the feel and the taste of Van.

He brought his lips upon hers once again, this time ravenously taking her in.

She unconsciously slid her hands over his chest, feeling him react to her touch. They were lost in one another, each their worlds and their problems obliterated from existence by the mere presence of the other. This was the effect of their deep affection and love.

Van broke from her lips, but continued administering attention to her neck and collarbone, enjoying her reaction to it. He had already been hard at work, his hands had sliding beneath her shirt and he was pushing both of them down on the bed. She could feel his body telling her he was ready to go much further and she couldn't have been more willing to comply…

But as soon as her head touched the bed, everything stopped.

Somehow, Hitomi's thoughts had come to a screeching halt on a single thought: marriage.

What she wouldn't give to be married to Van.

But she wasn't.

Hitomi abruptly pushed him away and slipped out from under him, letting him fall face first into the sheets.

She had to get away from him, so she walked across the room, near the door, running her hands through her hair. She took deep breaths, attempting to bring down the rush of her hormones and to shut up her body that screamed for the touch of love. She readjusted her pants and haphazardly closed her shirt, hoping that the movements would help her regain control of herself.

A startled Van pushed himself up to give Hitomi a look of confusion. He could hear her heavy breathing, and silently wondered what had happened. He tried to enter her mind, but found that she had blocked him off. He was confused…until his brain finally began to function properly once again. He finally realized the situation in which they found themselves in and what could have happened if Hitomi had not reacted first and stopped him. He was ashamed of himself for letting his feelings run away with him without taking in consideration in what position both he and Hitomi were in. They both had spouses, and even though Sezarina had often told Van that he did not have to be faithful to her, Van didn't want to put Hitomi in the situation in which she would be unfaithful to her husband. His mind was screaming for him to leave the room before he did something stupid, but his heart wanted to stay near Hitomi and never let her out of his sight ever again. So it was that this debate simply made him remain petrified where he was.

The door of the room suddenly burst open, startling the couple as they looked to their intruder.

"Iri-sama! I can't find—'' Ero stopped in mid-sentence as he took in what he had just stumbled into.

"Nevermind… I found him," he said as his eyes fell upon the King of Fanelia who was sitting on Irishiko's bed, disheveled and silent.

Ero focused his gaze on Irishiko who was in a similar state of disarray. His mind calmed his raging heart as it registered that they were both fully clothed and separate from each other.

"I hope I wasn't interrupting anything," Ero said rather bitterly as he noticed Irishiko's lips were slightly swollen and something he'd never seen on her before…a light blush covering her cheeks that matched Van's.

Realizing that this situation was becoming more and more compromising by the minute, Irishiko squared her shoulders and did her best to hold Ero's gaze with her green eyes.

"It's not to say that an interruption would be unwelcome," she said in a steady voice. She knew that Ero had supposed the situation and, even though he was only half wrong, she was still aware that she had hurt him badly.

Ero, who still had his hand on the doorknob, nodded.

"I'm still sorry I intruded," he said in the same bitter tone. He formally bowed to Van, saying, "It won't happen again. I was merely coming to say that we should reach shore by this afternoon."

With that he exited, closing the door firmly behind him.

Irishiko shut her eyes and released a frustrated sigh. Things were not going the way she would have wanted. 

There was an uncomfortable silence that hung in the air. Neither of the occupants of the room said anything, and didn't even move from their positions.

Then Van saw her straighten out her appearance and quickly pull on her boots.

"I have to go," she said, picking up her sword and quickly leaving the room.

The silence Van was left in was excruciating. As his mind slowly came back to life, questions began to form. How was it possible that Hitomi could be on Gaea without his knowledge of it? On top of that, why had she kept it concealed from him for so long?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. First he was angry at himself for not being able to recognize her even after three days of being very close to her. But moreover, he was angry at her. She had lied to him, and she'd been doing it for years with no apparent remorse. Was that the way to treat someone you claimed to love?

He wanted some answers, and he wasn't going to wait any more for them.

Van pulled his appearance together and left the room in search of Hitomi or Irishiko or whoever the hell she was.

~*~

TBC…

Okay…so it **was** what you thought it was. I just wanted to build the suspense. ^_^; please don't kill me. I find that I like living very much.

Baracuda here. What did you guys think? 

Yeah, yeah, I know that most of you guessed that Irishiko was Hitomi way back in chapter one or two, and therefore making me wonder if I had made it too obvious…but now there's the difficult task of explaining **why** Irishiko is Hitomi. *sigh* got to get to work…..

Well, this fic is nearly over….only two or three chappies left. The end is near! I can't believe it! This will be the first time I've actually finished a series before! WOW!

CECE! BE PROUD OF ME….well not just yet…wait till I'm actually done…..^_^;

I want to thank all you wonderful reviewers! (your numbers are diminishing, but that's okay)

::huggle::

**This was for you!**

Tootles.

--Youjibaracuda

" ::Westley and Buttercup are surrounded by Prince Humperdink's soldiers::

Humperdink: Surrender!

Westley: You mean you wish to surrender to me? Very well, I accept."

---_The Princess Bride_


	15. Fifteen

©March 2003

DISCLAIMER: Esca: Not mine. Duh. Plot: MINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~FIFTEEN~*~

Van walked briskly down the hallway Ivan had claimed to see Irishiko go down.

Whether she was ready or not, Van deserved an explanation and he planned to get one before they landed back in Asturia. 

Van spotted her just then, inside a room to his left, sitting there sharpening her sword in hypnotic motions.

"Hitomi?"

She paused but didn't look up.

Van walked to her and stood over her confrontationally. 

"Hitomi, I want to know what's going on," Van said to her.

"There's nothing going on, Van," she said, calmly wiping her sword and sheathing it.

Van was aghast. "Nothing?!" he exclaimed.

She stood up, tossing her loose brown hair over her shoulder and tried to walk past him.

He grabbed her arm and turned her to face him roughly. 

"Are you just going to pretend like nothing happened?" he said with barely veiled anger. "Damn it, I don't see you in over ten years and then you just expect me to make believe everything's the way it was before?!"  
She refused to meet his gaze, her hair shadowing her face. 

"I want answers Hitomi," Van demanded, slightly shaking her, "I want to know why you've been lying to me."

Her head snapped up, anger in her green eyes. She wrenched herself free from his grasp.

"You want answers, I'll give them to you. But don't you ever call me a liar again," she growled.

She turned toward the door grabbing Van by the wrist and dragged him out behind her. 

His surprise allowed her to lead him about the ship until they walked into the room he shared with Ero. The latter had been laying down, staring at the ceiling when they came in but stood up as soon as the other two walked in.

The brown haired woman let go of Van and moved to close the door behind her. She turned to face the stunned men before her.

"I only want to say this once, so I want both of you to pay attention. There's only about two other people in the world that know what I'm about to tell you," she told them.

Ero, momentarily forgetting earlier events, spoke up out of concern, "Are you alright, Iri-sama?"

"Not at the moment, Ero," she responded, shaking her head from side to side. "But it can't be helped."

Her features had calmed considerably but her posture was one of someone that carried a heavy load. She heaved a deep sigh, not really sure that she was ready to say all that she had to say, but knowing that now she had no choice. She owed it to them, especially Van, to hear the truth. 

Ero watched her as she stood before them, the tense silence in the room eating away at him, but he couldn't bring himself to break it.

Thankfully, at that moment, she began to speak.

"I don't know where to even begin with all of this," she said, bringing her hand to her forehead and dropped her eyes downward in hopes of finding some kind of way out. Her eyes caught on the handle of her sword, and she slowly pulled it out, turning it in her hand, the familiar feel a bit of a comfort.

"You know, I never used to understand why people fought," she said softly, "I knew that fighting accomplished nothing but suffering and pain. I had learned about how they destroyed and brought more problems than it solved. That was why the War of Fate was so hard for me."

She turned the sword, watching as the metal caught the light, almost as if it was winking at her.

"In my world, that was the way things worked," she said, "But here on Gaea things are different. Here, fighting is survival. It's a way of life. A way of life that I took up for myself because it was the only thing that made me feel in control."

She raised the sword parallel to her face, catching her reflection in the blade. Her brown hair was down, framing her face, her green eyes holding for a moment the spark of the past. 

"I never would have thought my life would have gone the way it has," she whispered lightly, as if talking to herself, "To be perfectly honest, I never wanted it to be this way."

She let her hand drop, as if the weight of the situation were too much for her. "I never wanted to leave who I was behind. The only person I ever wanted to be was Hitomi Kanzaki."

~*~

Ero looked to Irishiko with confusion in his eyes. What was she talking about? She left who she was behind? She was Hitomi Kanzaki? Ero looked to Van with a confused look, hoping that the king understood better than he had. But he found Van to be looking straight at Irishiko, an ironic sort of sadness crossing his features. 

Hitomi.

The name registered in Ero's memory bank. He knew that name. He'd heard it for the first time when he was nine when his nurse told him the story of the War of Fate. How King Van Fanel and Hitomi Kanzaki of the Mystic Moon had saved Gaea from the destruction brought by Zaibach's evil emperor. The stories that went around told of the brave king, out to avenge his kingdom with the help of the girl with mysterious powers to see the future and past, and of those like Sir Allen Schezar, Princess Millerna and even Dryden Fassa who helped in the struggle. 

But Ero swallowed hard when he remembered a part of the story that was not often told: the story of the love between the Dragon King and the Seeress. The girl had gone back to Mystic Moon after the war, leaving her love behind and never to be heard from again. So if Irishiko was Hitomi…

Ero dropped down on the bed behind him, his mouth slightly agape as pieces of an unknown puzzle began to fall into place. He blinked several times in bewilderment as he lifted his eyes to look at the woman before him. 

"You…" he swallowed hard, "You're Hitomi?" 

Her green eyes locked with his, a sad message of regret within their depths, as she knelt down before him and lightly touched his hand.

He knew the answer. And he was also slowly coming to realize what it meant. It meant that she had always gazed up at the Mystic Moon, not with wonder, but with a sadness of something left behind. She avoided Fanelia because of something that happened between herself and Van. She had shared a bond with Van that Ero couldn't begin to understand. It meant that the woman he was in love with was not someone he could ever aspire to. She had been claimed long ago.

He nodded slowly and stood up, making his way to the door.

It was her turn to be surprised. "Where are you going?"

He turned back to look at her sadly. "I've heard all I need to know," he told her. When she was about to protest, he spoke again, "Your past is none of my business. I know all that I need to."

He gave her a smile that broke her heart. "I also think that the both of you have things that you'd rather discuss in private," he said, "I'll come around again when we've landed."

With that he exited the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

~*~

Hitomi moved to sit on the bed where Ero had just been, closing her eyes. God, she had hurt him. She had read the hurt and the defeat in his grey eyes as they looked at her. 

Why was it that all she could do was bring pain to those she cared about?

She was trying to hold her emotions in check, using methods she had nearly perfected long ago. 

"I didn't want to pretend like nothing had changed, Van," she said to him in a shaky voice, "I'm not saying that I wish it hadn't happened…well, now it has and I just…I don't even know what to say to you."

She dropped her head in her hands, unable to face him for a moment longer and realizing that all her feeble attempts of controlling herself were doing no good.

Van, who had up to this point had been determined to remain firm, at the sight of her distress felt his heart go out to her. His features softened, and he sat down beside her, draping an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. 

She moved to wrap around his neck, clinging to him as if for dear life, trying to calm herself down. She had forgotten how much she needed him, how he was her lifeline. 

"It's okay, Hitomi," he said softly into her dark hair, "But I just want to know why."

"Why what, Van?"

"Why wasn't I good enough for you?" he asked hesitantly.

She pulled away from him immediately, looking into his face alarmed. "Don't you dare ever think that, Van Fanel. You're a great deal too good for me," she told him firmly.

"But if that's true, why was it that you didn't come back with me to Gaea?" Van asked with a slight twinge of bitterness. "It was obviously possible for you to do it."

"I told you why I couldn't marry you right then. Remember?"

Van nodded.

"I asked you to just wait about a year and then…

"I told you why I couldn't do that either," Van countered. 

Her eyes grew cold as she dropped her arms from around him. "You're a king, Van. You have the power to have certain things done your way. Your father did. Why couldn't you?"

She turned away from him. "You're all the same, every one of you," she mumbled angrily.

"Don't say that Hitomi, you don't have the right. You have no idea what it means to be in my position," Van said to her, becoming annoyed by her narrow-mindedness. 

Hitomi closed her eyes and brought her hands to cover her face, letting a frustrated growl escape her throat. "We've been through this before! I don't want to have the same argument over and over with you, Van!"

Van sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. Why was it so hard to have a decent conversation about this topic with her?

For a brief moment there was silence between them.

"You still haven't told me how it is you're here or why you didn't tell me about it," Van said with a resigned sort of voice.

"How I got here isn't really important," she answered quietly, "To tell you the truth, I'm not even sure how I managed it."

She let her eyes wander around the small room. "But there's only one way for you to understand why I did what I've done," she continued. Hitomi turned her head to look at Van. "I'm sure that you're not going to like hearing it any more than I like telling it. But it's the only way you'll understand."

With that, she began her tale.

~*~

TBC…__

Baracuda here. Okay, I'm sorry this took so long to come out, but I had wanted to post 15 and 16 together, but 16 is becoming way to long and I'm not nearly done finishing it, so I thought I'd post this to hold you guys over. ^_^

Thanks for still being here!

--Youjibaracuda

"Every revolution carries within it the seeds of its own destruction."


	16. Sixteen

© April 2003

DISCLAIMER: You know what goes here. Read on.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~SIXTEEN~*~

**~*~flashback~*~**

Hitomi felt the ground once more beneath her feet before she opened her eyes. 

Just as she was expecting, it was near sunrise, in a small clearing of a forest. She looked up to the star-filled sky and let a smile appear on her face when she caught sight of the Earth hanging just behind the moon.

She'd made it. She was finally back on Gaea. 

She giggled in spite of herself, excitement filling her body making her feel like she was fifteen again. Only this time things were different: there was no war, there was no fighting, and most importantly of all, for her there would only be Van.

_That is, unless he's married already or something,_ the nagging little voice inside her quipped.

Hitomi angrily pushed that voice aside. She had made a choice. She wouldn't live her life as she had for the past year where it was too painful to even breathe because of the void within her. She wasn't going to continue living with the nagging thought that she hadn't done anything to ensure her own happiness. She was determined to make Van Fanel a part of her life, one way or another.

She looked around at where she was but didn't recognize anything familiar. She readjusted the strap of her knapsack which contained her few belongings, and with a sigh picked a direction and began to walk. Hopefully she would soon find a village and they would point her in the direction of Fanelia. She also pushed away the thoughts of what would happen if she _didn't _ find  village or if she ran into unfriendly people. Instead, she thought of what she was going to tell Van once she found him. She knew she'd have explaining to do.

~*~

She had been walking along side a dusty road (something which she had considered safe) hoping that she would encounter someone who could help her out. But it was already past nine in the morning (by her watch) which meant she'd been walking for five hours without encountering a soul. She was beginning to wonder if this had been a good idea. 

Just then, she heard the sound of what she hoped were travelers behind her, the sound bringing relief to her heart. She saw what appeared to be a caravan coming towards her, picking up a pile of dust as they went along. 

They didn't look like they would be stopping, but then the first carriage came to halt just as it passed her. It wasn't really a carriage, more like an oversized cart that was carrying crates of things. 

"Hey there, boy!" the man driving the wagon called to her. "What are you doing in the middle of the road? Don't you know it's dangerous out here?"

Hitomi was about to give a smart response after the man called her a boy, but stopped herself short when she realized that to them, she must really look like a boy. She had cut off the dyed part of her hair, leaving just a short haircut not too unlike the one she had when she first came to Gaea. The difference was that her hair had turned a rich brown color, which had made Hitomi's mother comment how much she looked like her grandmother. On top of that, she was wearing jeans, a plain white t-shirt and an old pair of black Docs. So, she didn't exactly look feminine. 

The man who had asked her the question was looking at her suspiciously. _He must think I'm a bandit or something, she reasoned. _

"I was on my way to Fanelia, but got separated from my group and got lost," she told him, "I was hoping to come by a village that could point me in the right direction."

The man snorted. "Fanelia! Boy, are you lost buddy. You couldn't be father from Fanelia if you tried!"

At this Hitomi's spirits fell. She had expected to have landed somewhere near Fanelia. It had happened that way every other time! What had happened? More importantly, what was she going to do now?

"What's going on? Why have we stopped?" she heard a commanding voice from behind her.

"I'm sorry my Lord, it's just that this boy was in the middle of the road.  He got lost on his way to Fanelia," the driver of the oversized cart explained.

Hitomi turned around then, thinking that something about the voice she'd heard sounded familiar. Who she found as soon as she turned around was the last person she'd expected.

"Dryden!" she exclaimed. 

His usual glasses slipped down the bridge of his nose as he frowned at her slightly. Then his eyes went wide and for a precious moment Dryden Fassa was at a loss for words. Then he let his signature smile play on his lips. 

"Don't worry, Zak. This here is an old friend. We'll take her wherever she needs to go," he said to the driver of the cart. The man shrugged at his master's strange behavior, but then again Dryden was always strange. So he brushed it off and urged his beasts to move forward.

Hitomi gave Dryden a big hug. "You don't know how glad I am to see you!" she exclaimed, "I was beginning to think that I was going to be lost out here forever."

Dryden laughed as brought his arm around Hitomi's shoulders and led her towards his carriage in the caravan. "Finally, someone entertaining for a change! The ride to Ezgardia won't be nearly as boring now," he said in a playful tone, winking at her in his usual easy going manner as they got into the carriage. "Besides, you don't really think I could leave the savior of Gaea just on the side of the road like that? I'd never hear the end of it!" 

Hitomi giggled as the carriage moved forward and the caravan continued on their way.

"So, where are we exactly?" Hitomi asked.

"Right now we're traveling towards Ezgardia, I have a shipment to send off to Asturia using the port there. It's the fastest and safest way for cargo to travel since that part of the sea is monitored closely by the authorities of the Alliance," Dryden offered.  
"The Alliance?" Hitomi asked.

"Yes, the alliance between Asturia, Fanelia, Ezgardia, Freid, Basram, and the new Zaibach. Supposedly, it's all for the best," Dryden said a bit bitterly, but he quickly brushed it aside, "But tell me about you. When did you get here?"

"Just before sunrise today," she answered him.

Dryden leaned forward towards her, "Here to see the King of Fanelia?"

Hitomi felt her cheeks redden as Dryden laughed at her blush. "I thought you would. I didn't think that you'd come all the way from the Mystic Moon just to chat with me."

"Well, I might have," Hitomi told him, trying to save face to which Dryden chuckled again.

"So tell me, Hitomi, how's your life been since you left us?" he asked, leaning back into the cushion of the seat and tossing his long hair aside.

Hitomi sighed as her face grew serious. "Not as well as I would have liked," she said. She wasn't sure what it was, but for the first time she felt that could openly talk about her life and her feelings openly. There was something about Dryden that just made her feel comfortable. And so they went on for hours, Hitomi talking about her life on Earth, Van's proposal, her refusal, and her ultimate decision to find him once again.

"I can't live without him anymore," Hitomi summed up, "He has me within him, and when we're apart I feel empty. All I want is to feel whole again."

Dryden up until this point had offered almost no commentary aside from the occasional words of encouragement.

"Hitomi, you find yourself with a difficult task ahead of you," he began.

"I know," she interrupted. "But I don't care what I have to do."

She raised her eyes to meet his, determination in her voice. "For once, I plan to get what I want."

Dryden looked back to her, not wanting to put this poor girl through anymore than she already had. He knew that she wasn't thinking clearly because if she was, she would know that her situation with Van was nearly impossible.

_But, then again, _he thought with a small smile_, so it seemed between me and Millerna._ He looked at the determined woman before him. _Maybe she'll get through this._

He smiled fondly at her, "I wish you the best of luck, Hitomi. And I want you to know that if there's anything that I can do for you, I will."

She smiled back at him warmly. "Thank you so much Dryden. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it."

"Well," Dryden said, slapping his leg as he scooted forward in his seat, "We have yet some time before we get to the port. From there I can even personally take you to Fanelia. I have to stop by there anyway."

Hitomi was about to ask him why when he spoke again. "So how about I fill you in with Gaean news?"

"I would like that," she answered.

~*~

Dryden jumped out of the carriage and stretched his arms up above his head as Hitomi climbed out behind him. It was nearly sunset, and after traveling in the cramped carriage all day, Hitomi was grateful to finally be able to stretch her sore limbs.

"Don't wander off," Dryden told her as he went about checking up on the rest of the caravan, which was mostly just merchants and merchandise.

Hitomi strolled a little ways off to look at the sea that stretched out before her. What would Van say when she saw him? Would he be happy? She hoped so. He'd taken a part of her that fateful day, and she didn't like what she'd been left with. Since then, she wasn't the same person. She would put on the front of her old self to her family and to van when she talked to him, but there was no truth behind it. She had become more cynical, less carefree, the void within her making it hard to find enjoyment in things. She had thrown herself into her work and her kendo practice with such force that her sensei had told her several times to not attack with such force. She wanted to be who she used to be, to have the happiness of being with the one person who completed her. 

She was broken away from her thoughts as a hand came down on her shoulder.  
"Hey, you've had a long day, you deserve some rest," he said. "You can stay at the inn with me, though I'm not promising the lap of luxury, and to morrow we can see about getting you to Fanelia."

Hitomi shook her head. "I don't mind. Thank you so much for your help."

"It's the least I can do for you," he said with a smile and led her towards the village. 

They arrived upon the inn, which Hitomi discovered was also a tavern (though she wasn't very surprised) and they entered. 

"My lord Dryden!" a short pudgy, but friendly, man came up to them as they entered. "Glad to see you arrived in safety."

"Thank you, Juni, yes everything is in order," Dryden answered, shaking the man's hand. "I'm going to have to ask you for another room. I ran into an old friend."

The man named Juni looked to Hitomi with a warm smile. "I'm sure I can find a room for the little lady."

Hitomi smiled back at him her thanks as Joni led them through the tavern to the rooms in the back. He opened a door an motioned for them to step inside a small study room.

"Please wait here while I make the extra arraignments," he said. Then a man came up to him and handed Joni a bundle of letters. 

"My lord Dryden," Juni said, handing him the letters, "These were left for you."

"Thanks, Joni," Dryden told him and the man left the room.

Dryden strolled over to the small desk and lit the candles that were there, since the light of the sun was fading fast. He opened the bundle and started looking over the letters.

"Boring, boring, boring, business…" he stopped when he found one that was different from the others. This one was addressed to him in the elegant penmanship of a lady.  Hitomi couldn't help but smile a little when she saw the smallest hint of a blush on Dryden's cheeks. The letter must have been from Millerna. Dryden cleared his throat, dumping the rest of the letters on the table and grabbing a letter opener. 

"Milord," Juni's voice came from the door, "Shall I show you to your rooms?"

"Go, I'll go in a little bit," Dryden said, not looking up from the letter.

With that, Hitomi followed Joni to her quarters.

~*~

Dryden's eyes flew over the letter. There wasn't much substance to it, all it talked about were pleasantries, etc. but it meant a lot to him that Millerna would write to him. It had taken some time, but they had finally been able to speak to each other again. It had only been this past year, while Dryden had been away, that Millerna began to write to him regularly. Their relationship was slowly beginning to build. 

Usually, Millerna's letters would make him smile, but this one was different.

          "…_I'm writing to you from Fanelia. We got word a couple of days ago from Van. He sent for me to come right away, since his wife had not _

_been feeling to well. Then, two days ago, she went into an early labor. I was very worried since the child had three weeks to go yet, but _

_thankfully, we were able to have it be born. It was a healthy baby boy named Kiross who, as Van says, looks just like Folken. He is the _

_cutest little thing you'll ever see (though Serena and Gaddess' little girl is running a strong second) and I've never seen parents (or _

_council members) so proud in my life. I think they're just happy that Van finally let them have their way and produce an heir. _

_ I understood from Van that you were supposed to come Fanelia soon. I hope everything that you were doing in Ezgardia is well. You _

_know what Eries says about such things. She thinks that traveling is very troublesome, so…"_

Dryden bit his lip as he put down Millerna's letter. He then sifted once again through the pile of remaining letters and sure enough, he found what he thought. He broke the royal seal on the back of the envelope and extracted the one page letter in Van's handwriting:

          _"Dryden, old friend. I'm writing you to give you the best news. I'm a father! Can you believe it? I must confess I hardly believe it myself. _

_His name is Kiross Lacour de Fanel, the heir to the Fanelian throne. Everyone is thrilled even though the little guy gave us all a scare by _

_coming too soon, as I'm sure Millerna already told you about. _

_I'm also writing to ask that you come to Fanelia earlier than planned, not only to celebrate the birth of my son, but also to discuss very _

_delicate matters involving Fanelia and her seclusion. I need your advice, since right now I'm at my wits end. Everyone else from the old _

_gang is here and anxious to see you, Millerna most of all I believe. I hope to see you soon._

_Van"_

Dryden sighed as he put the letter down. On the one hand he was glad (if not a little envious) that Van had begun a family, but his heart went out to Hitomi. He didn't believe the poor girl was able to handle Van having a wife, much less now having a child. He didn't know how things like this happened on the Mystic Moon, but on Gaea, they were ugly situations, often involving scandalous affairs, horrible secrets and most of all incredible amounts of heartache. 

He knew what she was feeling, he himself felt the same way for Millerna. Hitomi wanted to do everything she could to be near Van.

Dryden ran his hand through his hair. This wasn't going to be easy to tell Hitomi, but he couldn't let her blindly throw herself into a situation she couldn't handle. He looked to the clock on the mantle that read eight o'clock. It was still early, but no doubt she had gone to bed already. She needed her rest, so Dryden decided to wait till morning to tell her.

~*~

It broke his heart to watch her face pale as her eyes looked over Van's letter. Her hands visibly shook as her eyes ran over it again and again, as if she was searching for something that would make the whole thing false. Finally she put it down, not raising here eyes from the ground. She placed the letter lightly on the edge of the desk where he was sitting, and remained silent. 

Dryden fidgeted in his seat, the uncomfortable silence getting to him, but thought it best to say nothing before she did. 

The morning sunlight that shone through the window behind him caught on some stray flecks of gold in her brown hair. 

"You're a true friend, Dryden," he heard her finally speak. "And I'm very sorry to leave you like this, but I think I need some time to think things over."

"Hitomi, I can't tell you how sorry I am that I had to tell you about all this…" Dryden said getting up and moving to her. "But it would have been wrong of me not to warn you. I know what you're feeling, but things aren't as hopeless as they first appear to be."

Hitomi lifted her head up, her green eyes covered in shadow. "Thank you, Dryden." She stood up to hug him before leaving the room. "I'll be back later," she said over her shoulder quietly before exiting the room.

She made her way to her room, shutting the door behind her, feeling the tears come to her eyes as she threw herself on her bed, crying bitterly into her pillow, wanting to do nothing more than disappear.

~*~

Hitomi had finally emerged from her room two days later, not uttering a word to anyone and hardly eating while she secluded herself from the world. She blinked her eyes as they adjusted to the brightness of the world outside. But then she felt all those despairing feelings return to her and she looked around as tears began to reform, wishing to out run the pain, the devastation, everything. But she found that she couldn't run. This was a strange place, and from what Dryden had told her, Gaea was no longer a safe place. She walked along silently, holding back the emotions until she couldn't hold them anymore. She found a rather large tree in a strangely situated grove of fruit trees. Impulsively, she grabbed the nearest branch and hauled herself up into the awaiting tree and proceeded to climb up in an automatic fashion which was strange to her since she hadn't climbed in trees since she was a little girl (much to the horror of her mother). When she felt that she was sufficiently high enough off the ground, she sat on a thick limb of the leaved giant. Patches of sunlight shone through the leaves, making abstract patters on her skin and clothes. She could smell the sea air, a smell that would forever of her home on Earth. 

That's when it happened. The dam holding back her emotions collapsed, bringing another onslaught of bitter tears and sad thoughts of despair and defeat.

Her thoughts from the past two days replayed over and over in her mind. What had she been thinking? That once she and Van were together everything would be alright? She had known that he was married, and yet she still stubbornly believed that they could have a future together. Now he had a child, and though she doubted it was any more than a mere obligation to have an heir, she still understood that she couldn't just waltz in there and expect a happy ending. Happy endings weren't for her…she had always known this. It was just that she had been in denial and was grasping at foolish hope. All these were her thoughts as she bitterly wept.

She wept in grief, not just for losing Van, but for losing that part of herself that Van possessed. 

"Hey boy! What are you doing there?" a voice called out.

Hitomi jumped as the question was directed towards her. She lowered her head to see beneath a bunch of leaves that obstructed her view of a building to her left. She saw an open window with the slightly irritated-looking innkeeper looking right at her. He looked bewildered when his eyes came in contact with her own.

"Oh Miss, it's you!" Juni said, relaxing somewhat. 

 "You shouldn't be out there in that tree," he said in voice that now held concern, motioning her over to him. 

"Young ladies like you shouldn't be climbing around in trees. It's dangerous," he scolded as she climbed in through his window.

She quickly wiped the remaining tears from her eyes so that he wouldn't see. She was standing in a sort of parlor room which she assumed to be the innkeeper's private quarters.

"I don't mean any disrespect, Milady," he said turning to her, "But I couldn't help but notice that you're upset."

Hitomi looked to him not all that surprised but rather embarrassed that a complete stranger would be seeing right through her.

"Yes," she said with a raspy unused voice, "You could say that I'm more than a bit upset."

"Well, I can tell you one thing," he said, pulling up a chair for her to sit in, "You don't get to be my age and do what I do without being able to read people pretty well."

Hitomi  sat a bit uncomfortably in her chair, giving the man named Juni a small smile.

"Here," he said, producing a glass and a bottle of a blueish liquid and pouring a bit out for her. "This will make you feel better."

Hitomi eyed the liquid in the glass. It didn't take a genius to figure out it was alcohol. She hadn't forgotten the last time she had drank Gaean alcohol and made a fool of herself in front of the Asturian court. But, she reasoned as she brought the glass to her lips, since then she had made it a point to build up her tolerance level.

She waited for any type of effect to come, but when none but a warmness came, she relaxed a little.

"Feel better?" Juni asked.

"A little, yes. Thank you," she answered him.

"I've noticed that you've been locked up in your room for the last couple of days. So I'm going to venture a guess," Juni said, sitting down across from her, his own glass in hand. "You've had your heart broken."

Hitomi's jaw dropped as the man smiled while taking a sip of his drink.

"Now, I don't know much about these things," he said, looking at her, "But I can tell you one thing I **do** know, milady. You have every right to grieve and pity yourself for the wrong that has been committed against you. But you musn't ever let it come to consume you. I'm sure that if you do, your life will be bitter and unpleasantly miserable. Just because you've had a bad experience with one person, or even with two or three people, it doesn't mean that the world cannot hold joy. Indeed, by secluding yourself from it, you are robbing all of us of all the good that is within you. And that, I think, would be a very great loss."

Hitomi looked at the remainder of the liqueur in her glass. His words were somehow registering somewhere in her foggy mind.  She raised her green eyes to make his. He was right. She was done with this, and with determination she raised her chin.

"I don't plan to hide from the world," she said in a firm voice, "My grief is my own to carry, as many carry a certain kind of private grief. I'm not going to hide. I even plan to have a new life."

Juni leaned back in his chair and let the corners of his mouth twitch into a smile. He could see that the young lady before him had a strong will and the makings of a great person who would make a difference in the world and ready to take on whatever would be thrown her way.

"My dear, I wish you well. Here's to you," he said lifting his glass in a toast and drinking. "And know that if you are ever at any time in need for anything, I'm at your disposal."

"You don't know how much that means to me, Sir Juni," Hitomi said, standing up. "and I thank you for your kind words and advice. And if you'll excuse me, now I have some things that have just come up that I must discuss with Dryden."

"Please, just call me Juni," the man said, lead standing up with her and lead her towards the door. He walked with her down the stairs and into the tavern.

"I'll see you later," she said to him with a small smile, "And thank you once again."

"You're welcome," Juni smiled at her, "And stay out of trees, young miss."

She nodded and began to walk away.

"Oh miss!" he called to her, "I don't know your name."

She turned around to look at him. An unconscious decision had been made during the last couple of days about herself and it wasn't until now that she accepted what she had to do. Hitomi Kanzaki was someone she would have to leave behind along with all being her meant.

"My name is Irishiko," she told him.

~*~end flashback~*~

TBC…

Baracuda here. Okay, how many of you really hate me right now? *sigh* oh well. Let me just say that this is not a happy fic, and I am sorry. This story was meant to be different from everything I've ever written before. Turns out angst may not really be my calling, but I thought I'd give it a shot. This situation is only going to get worse before it gets better, but I hope you'll still read it. IT would mean *so* much to me!

But I have some sad news: I'm going to be **extremely** busy from here till about mid-May…T_T school work is something I can no longer afford to neglect (as much as I would want to) so please don't be too upset if I don't update in a while. Though, Cece has threatened that I must post at least three new chapters by the end of June. O.O so, I either have to get to work or find a *very* good hiding place…I hear Vermont is nice…

Jaa ne!

--Youjibaracuda

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to kill  you."

"You seem a decent fellow. I hate to die."

--TPB


	17. Seventeen

© April 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Esca. Life is *so* unfair. But…somehow…it figures. 

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Seventeen~*~

Silence. 

She stared at her hands, not wanting to look at him when he gave a response to the tale she had just finished telling. 

Van sighed and ran a hand through his raven locks.

"So…Dryden's known about you since the beginning. I never understood why he looked so sad when he got to Fanelia," Van mused quietly "So the life you decided to lead was one that was completely different from something Hitomi would have done."

"I didn't become a bad person, Van," she responded a bit defensively. She couldn't help but feel that he was accusing her something bad.

"But it still doesn't explain it to me," Van continued, "Why, if you were so convinced that you could never be Hitomi anymore, did you continue our communication? Why did you lead me on like that?"

"I didn't mean to! I…I couldn't do it," she told him, "I know it was selfishly cruel to continue making you think that I was on the Mystic Moon and that I was still who you believed me to be. And I know that you found solace in our interactions. I needed you as much as you needed me."

"But you could have told me!" Van exclaimed, exasperatedly standing up.

"And what would that have accomplished, Van?!" Hitomi also stood, facing him angrily. "Nothing! Nothing but make things worse!"

"Things were that bad?" Van asked.

"Yes, they were and it was your fault!"

"Then why didn't you just go back?!"

"I tried! Anything would have been better than being stuck in this hell hole!"

"Then why are you still here?!"

"It's because of you that I couldn't leave!"

Van paused for a moment, his jaw firmly set, trying desperately hard not to let his emotions get the better of him. He had already lost his temper, he was not about to lose his pride by crying.

Just then there was a knock at the door, followed by its opening and Ero standing in the door frame. He looked into the room, finding the occupants of the room glaring at each other. 

"I was just coming to tell you that we're just about to dock in Asturia," he said tentatively, not wanting to say anything that would make an obviously bad situation worse. 

Irishiko sighed and looked down at her feet. "You just don't get it," she said quietly, and made her way past Ero and out the door.

It took a moment for Van to react to her sudden departure and already more than a little irritated by the way she seemed to have the habit of leaving the room in the middle of a conflict, he followed her. 

Ero, for a reason still unknown to even himself, took off after Van, following him to Irishiko's room where she was hastily putting her things away in a small satchel.

"We're not done," Van said roughly, walking right up to her, forcing her to look at him.

"What else do you want me to say, Van?" she asked, "That everything will be alright, that everything is for the best?" Tears were welling up in her eyes.

At the sight of this Van's heart softened, and her reached up to cup her face in his hands. "All I want is to understand," he said to her gently.

A single tear slipped from beneath her lashes as she removed herself from his grasp. "You can't, Van. You just can't," said, turning away from him.

Van reached out and grabbed her elbow, turning her back towards him. "Of course I can't if you won't tell me!" he said, his frustration getting the better of him. "Listen to your heart. Can't you see that there are those here that love you?"

"I don't want that!" she cried, yanking away from his hold. 

"You don't get it! I've stopped listening to my heart a long time ago," she continued, "It's brought me nothing but suffering!"

"That's not possible," Ero spoke up from behind them, alerting them to his continuing presence in the room, "Not when you do what's right for it."

"Oh yeah," she said, turning to him, "You always try to do what's right for your heart, but when does your heart ever do what's right for you?! It's been my experience that the heart is the most treacherous thing of all!"

Her green eyes bore through Ero, the years of pain within them so intense that he could feel it in his chest.

She shifted her gaze back to Van.

His heart constricted in agony as he saw the suffering disguised as anger held in her eyes. He couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for her pain. 

"Every man who has ever claimed to love me, gets taken away from me," she continued in a low voice, "My father was taken by another woman. My brother is a world away from me. Amano was taken by Yukari. Allen stepped down from pursuing me."

She shifted her gaze to the ground. "My husband was taken by a madman. And my……my true love," she raised her eyes to meet Van's, "He was taken by his crown."

Van clenched his jaw, struggling to push down the lump that had once again formed in his throat.

"So you see," she continued in a raspy voice, "I am in no hurry to follow my heart again. I don't want to be loved. I just want to do the best that I can to alleviate other's suffering."

She lifted her chin resolutely in the air and met each man's eyes. "So please let me continue to do that…and leave me alone."

She picked up her satchel and silently made her way towards the upper decks.

~*~

Irishiko looked over to Lancen who was standing beside her as the crew men were unloading the ship's cargo. It was the perfect opportunity for them to disembark without calling attention to themselves, since the sun would not set for another couple of hours. She had already sent Ivan and Pye ahead of them to secure their horses. Ero and Van had gone out a short while ago, and she was just waiting for the right opportunity for Lancen and herself to disembark.

"Have I mentioned how grateful I am to you?" the inventor told Irishiko. 

She smiled lightly and turned to look at him through her mask. "You have, Lancen…about thirty times since yesterday."

"Well, I'm trying to express what I feel," he said sheepishly. 

She chuckled lightly. "I understand, but it really isn't necessary."

Just then her opportunity came and she grabbed the man's wrist, having him walk hurriedly behind her as they walked beside a large cart that was covered by a dark red tarp. Once it was unloaded, it made its way towards the center of the town, while Irishiko and Lancen disappeared into the nearby forest.

"Boss! There you are!" Pye smiled over at her as she approached them. "Thought for a second that you were flaking out on us."

She shook her head as she made her way over to where they had the horses prepared. 

"Ero," she said to him in a dull voice, "You'll ride with Lancen ahead of us. Van will ride with Pye and Ivan and I will bring up the rear in a little bit. I still have one more thing to do."

Ero frowned. She was deliberately avoiding both him and Van. Though he couldn't say that he blamed her. With a small sigh, he mounted his steed, offering his hand to help Lancen up behind him as Pye mounted another horse.  
"Where are you going?" Van suddenly spoke up, directing his gaze towards Irishiko.

She stiffened. "I have to make sure that we were not seen by anyone or that there exists the possibility of anyone from Ezgardia to be after us for what we've done. Now go and I don't expect any arguments." 

With that she turned on her heel and walked back towards the docks. 

Van opened up his mouth to protest, but Ivan stopped him, saying, "Now isn't the time for this, Van. You have to get going. Trust her, she knows what she's doing."

"We have to go now, time is running out, Van," Ero called to him from a top his horse.

Van clenched his fists, but silently mounted behind Pye. He knew they were right, but he didn't like the way she was acting; but there was nothing he could do about it at present. They had a mission to accomplish afterall. After one last look over his shoulder, the four of them rode of in the direction of Fanelia. 

~*~

Dryden opened the door to the study at the local inn, tossing a group of papers on the desk while his nose was buried in a book. He hadn't noticed he had a visitor.

"Ever heard of the expression 'knowledge is power'?" 

Dryden nearly dropped his books as his eyes flew to the woman who was sitting in a chair in front of him, her arms crossed over her chest, feet propped up on the desk. 

He was surprised to find Irishiko there, but he played it off very well as he allowed his characteristic smile play on his lips. 

"I must say that it's a new one," he answered her question as he closed him book and half sat on the desk. "Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking that the phrase is true only from the perspective of the one receiving the knowledge. When you give knowledge, you lose power," she said in a slightly bitter tone.

Dryden looked at for a moment, all the amusement gone from his features when he heard tone of voice. 

"You told him." It wasn't a question.

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "More or less."

"Which one is it?" Dryden asked.

She looked up at his sharply and raised an eyebrow at him. There was a moment of silence before she turned her head to look to the bookcase to her right. "Less."

Dryden nodded and said nothing to reproach her, even though he had always felt that Van should know the whole truth from the very beginning. There had been many times where he had been sorely tempted to inform the young monarch of everything, but he couldn't betray the confidence Hitomi and later Irishiko had in him. It wasn't his place to say anything. His heart went out to this girl who had suffered so much in her young life. He respected her and even admired the amazing grace with which she took all the bad hands life had dealt her. From the beginning, he had been willing to do whatever she asked of him. The only thing she'd ever asked him to promise was to not reveal to anyone her true identity. He meant to keep that promise.

"I see," he said simply. After another moment, he spoke again. "Do you plan to tell him the rest of it?"

"Yes," she said quietly, her chin resting on her hand, "He'd never forgive me if I didn't. But now isn't the time."

"It's up to you," Dryden told her, crossing his arms over his chest, "But could I give you some friendly advice?"

"Can I stop you?" she asked with a small smile.

Dryden remained completely serious. "I suggest that you don't wait too long to tell him all of it. As much as I know Van cares about you, he still has his pride."

"I know," she said almost inaudibly. The truth was that she was scared to death about what the rest of the truth would mean to Van. Sure, she had told him that she had married, but she had never explained that the feelings she had had for her husband haunted her still or that her husband had given her a son whom she had loved more than life itself. Van didn't know what she had nearly done after the death of her family, nor why she had chosen to continue living. There was so much that she had kept from him even after all those conversations, after all those meetings where he would often bear his soul to her. She was terrified of what Van would think of her now.

Dryden had always been there for her, giving her needed support in whatever she was doing in her life. He was the only person whom she had been completely honest with in a long time and because of that she cared for him deeply. He was the older brother she had never had, the sorely needed friend that kept her sane. She knew that she could count on him for help and support. That was the real reason she was there now, wanting for him to calm her fears and to lift her spirits so that she could face the situation she found herself in.

Dryden moved to where she was and pulled her up into a hug. He felt her shaking as he held her and he lightly kissed her forehead as if she was his little sister.

"Hey, don't be scared," he said soothingly, "You and Van will get through this. I know you will. He loves you more than you know."

She chuckled bitterly. "I'm not so sure about that anymore."

Dryden looked down at her. "No one that knows Van like I do could doubt that he's in love with you."

Her green eyes looked into his brown ones skeptically. "A man in love would have done everything within his power to make sure he could be with the one he loved."

"A man in love, yes. But the one who loves you is a king," Dryden said matter-of-factly. "And as much in love as he is, the love of one person could not make him forget the love he feels for a country and its people."

She broke from his gaze as his words sunk in. She knew all too well how much Van's people meant to him and how much he wanted to be a good king in these difficult times. Making selfish decisions were unlike him. In her heart, she knew that Van couldn't have done anymore than he had to ensure his happiness…even if that meant giving up a life with her.

Dryden saw her worried face and tried to reassure her. "Don't worry too much, Iri," he laughed, "If Millerna and I can make it, anyone can!" 

She nodded and pulled away from him, pushing back tears and smiling a little at Dryden's attempt at humor. "How is Mill? Have you heard from her?"

"I have. She's fine. She just writes to tell me of how busy she's been going back and forth doing insignificant things," Dryden informed her.

"So, reading between the lines…" she prompted.

"She's bored out of her mind," Dryden chuckled.

"She just misses her husband, that's all," Irishiko said adjusting her cloak back onto her shoulders and putting on her mask. "I know I did when Mohku would…" she trailed off as she realized what she had said.

Dryden also caught the sad turn of her sentence. "I know," he told her. Then he flashed her a smile, "I'm glad you came back safely."

"Thank you for all your help," she told him, recovering from earlier.

"Don't be ridiculous, Iri. I don't want your gratitude. You know I expect to be paid back in full," he responded in his usual playful manner.

"Always the businessman I see," she retorted with a shake of her head but a small smile on her lips. 

"Get out of here already," he told her, waving her off, "I know you're in a hurry."

She smiled at him once more before going to the door and leaving.

~*~

TBC…

Baracuda here. Okay, that's another successful chapter completed. I'm beginning to become seriously embarrassed at the rate of production of this story. It's really sad, actually. But I'm doing the best that I can, considering my circumstances…there's a million things I should be doing but I'm not doing them. Like writing my dialogue for Japanese…I apologize to Maire-senpai. Gomen nasai.

To minna-san: thanks for the reviews! I'm feeling the love! ^_~

--Youjibaracuda

"Look are you just fooling around with me or what?"

"I just want you to feel like you're doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed."

---_The Princess Bride_


	18. Eighteen

© May 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't Escaflowne. Shocker, isn't it? Read on.

~*~

Irishiko and Ivan were riding along at a steady pace when the sunset. Not too many hours after that, they caught up with the rest of the group that had stopped about a half an hour's ride outside of Fanelia. There they had set up a temporary camp so they could plan their next move.

"Korin must be furious," Ero observed, sitting around the fire with the others as he inhaled some food that Ivan had roughly put together. "With Van here with us, he can't ask for a ransom."

"Do you think he suspects that I'm with you?" Van asked.

"I'm sure he knows," Pye spoke up. "He's not stupid. And I'm sure he's even more pissed off about it." 

He turned to Irishiko, who had been sitting a little way off from the rest of them and had kept silent this whole time. 

"I'm sure that the Boss has a big plan worked out already," Pye said cheerfully, oblivious to the thick tension radiating from her. "Right, Boss?"

She raised her gaze to the blue haired man. "I'm working on it," she said quietly. _I've had other things to deal with first, she added silently._

There was silence for a while before Irishiko stood up and moved closer to address all of them. 

"I need to go back to where Korin is. I have to see the lay out of everything before we can do anything else."

"Wouldn't it be better for Ivan to do that?" Ero asked.

"No, he doesn't know what I want to find. I won't even be sure until I get there," she explained flatly. 

"But you shouldn't go alone," Van said to her. She could end up getting hurt. He wasn't about to let her go by herself…

Her eyes flashed in his direction for a second before she bowed her head slightly so that a shadow fell over her eyes. "It's better for me to go alone. They're on the look out for me. If someone else goes with me, it makes it all the more suspicious. Besides, it's easier for one person to move in an out undetected. I can take care of myself. I've been doing so for a long time."

Van was about to protest to her preposterous motion, when Ero put a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

"You won't win," Ero said in a low voice. "She'll always manage to do things her own way," he said pointing at the back of Van's head in a reminder of what had happened the last time Van had tried to intercede in one of Irishiko's plans. Whispering a curse under his breath, Van stood up angrily and walked a little ways away from the make-shift camp.

Irishiko followed his movements with her eyes, keeping herself neutral as usual. 

_If you don't feel anything, you don't get hurt._

"I'll meet you an two hours before sunrise in Lancen's old shack outside the city," she told Ero. "If I'm not there, get out of the area quickly."

Giving no one anytime to say anything else, she effortlessly mounted her horse and took off into the dark.

Van looked back over his shoulder when she heard her leave. 

His fist suddenly made very painful contact with a nearby tree. The soaring pain told him that it had not been the smartest thing to do, but she had made him so mad! How dare she have such a blatant disregard for her own life? For him? Hitomi would never do something that cruel; she would never act in an irrational way. She always looked for the best way to resolve things peacefully, without forcing anyone to do anything.

His ruby eyes narrowed, the reflection of the fire glowing within them. 

But, he realized, the woman who had just left was not Hitomi. She had said so himself. She had _been_ Hitomi. Now, he could honestly say, the woman called Irishiko was a complete stranger.

~*~

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Chapter Eighteen~*~

A noise outside her cell door stirred her from her sleep. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes as someone she couldn't make out came inside without a word. She wasn't alarmed since it was probably only Mohku. Though it did seem curious to her that he would come back twice in one day, and at such a late hour. However, she got up off her cot, standing in the manner expected from her as a queen, imprisoned or not. 

The person came up to her in a quick steps and hastily bowed before her.

"Your Highness," Sezarina was surprised to her a woman's voice ring in the room, "Please do not be alarmed, I mean you no harm. I have come to get you out of here."  
Sezarina blinked at the words, sleep completely gone from her mind now, wondering how this woman first knew her and second had come to save her. Somewhere in the back of her mind she had been expecting Van to show up for her rescue in that brash manner in which he was known to do things.

As if reading her mind, the woman said, "I am working together with your husband in bringing this about. He isn't here because I wouldn't allow him to risk his life for what we're about to do. Besides, he couldn't pull it off."

Sezarina couldn't find much of a response since it was all happening very quickly. However, for some reason she didn't think that this woman was lying and so she put her faith in her. 

Recovering a little bit, she thanked the masked woman.

"We don't have much time, so I can't explain and I don't want to alarm you, but I believe that you have been poisoned. I have an antidote…"

"It's not necessary," Sezarina interrupted. "I knew I was poisoned. Fortunately I found a friend in this dreaded place that helped me. He gave the antidote."

"A friend?" the other woman asked, "How can you be sure that he gave you the real antidote."

Sezarina looked through the darkness to the one standing before her. "He is a prisoner here also. But he risked a lot to help me. I have no reason to doubt him," she replied with a hint of sadness, knowing that Mohku had put his life in danger to help. Then an idea struck her mind. "I would want to get him out of this dreadful place too. I want to help him and end this life of misery he's been leading."

"Who is this one who helped you?" the woman asked after a moment.

"His name is Mohku Maeo," the queen answered.

The other said nothing, but in the darkness Sezarina could make out what she believed to be a smile on the other woman's lips. 

"He's partially the reason I agreed to all of this," she told the queen. 

~*~

Sezarina gripped the reins of the horse tighter in her gloved hands as she rode past the city gates of Fanelia. She looked back over her shoulder, her eyes peering through the holes of the mask to make sure she was not followed. She saw no movement behind her, so she quickly continued on the place the woman named Irishiko had old her about. 

_~*~flashback~*~_

_"Once you go past the main gates of the city, you'll ride about half an hour at a regular pace just to the right side, off the main road," she said while helping Sezarina step into her clothes. "Then, you'll come to a large Juniper tree with three large knots at about eye level. When you reach it, make a sharp right straight into the forest."_

_"Are you sure I won't get lost?" Sezarina asked, pulling on Irishiko's gloves and tying the woman's black sash around her own waist. _

_Irishiko shook her head, "Before long you'll come to a small clearing in which you will find a small shack. Tie up the horse and go inside to wait there. Don't light a fire, don't move anything, just in case someone sees you. From there, your husband will find you."_

_Irishiko stood back and threw her cloak over Sezarina's shoulders. She and the queen were to eerily similar in appearance that there would be no problem passing off Irishiko as Sezarina long enough to allow the latter's escape. _

_Sezarina removed the golden circlet from her head and placed on Irishiko's, standing back to see a near mirror image before her. Her mind wouldn't register until much later what it meant._

_Irishiko stepped forward and put the mask over Sezarina's pale face.  _

_"There," she said softly, "Now go like I told you and you'll be fine. Just make sure that you aren't followed."_

_"What about you and Mohku?" the queen asked._

_Irishiko smiled. "Don't worry about us. Everything will be alright. Just worry about getting back to your children. I'm sure they miss you as much as you miss them."_

_Sezarina nodded and they both made their way to the door. Irishiko slid her hand along a section of the wall, searching for the hidden spring that would release the door from the inside. She knew all to well how Korin constructed his holding cells. _

_The door popped open and Irishiko pushed Sezarina out with one more reassuring nod._

_~*~end flashback~*~_

Sezarina had finally arrived to the small clearing Irishiko had said, relieved to find it there. It wouldn't be long now, before this whole nightmare was over.

~*~

Korin drummed his fingers lazily on the table he was sitting at. Sunrise would not be for a good three or four hours yet, but he found he could not help. Lately, he had become more and more restless, and for the last couple of days he had become sorely annoyed. None of his spies could come up with any trace of the king of Fanelia. It was as if he had disappeared off the face of the planet. 

He was sure Irishiko had something to do with it. 

Thinking of her made his smile maliciously. It must have killed her to King Van and grovel to the kind of person she hated so much. It gave him some satisfaction to at least know that she was suffering for it. 

It was a very small comfort, however. He was not getting what he wanted. Fanelia's advisors and nobles had proved to be more difficult to manage than he had anticipated. Any other group of advisors would have crumbled to his demands long ago. 

Korin sighed, running a hand through his short platinum blonde hair. He got up and started walking. 

Korin had to admit it was impressive the way Fanelia's kingdom was run. It had to be difficult to keep the country so isolated from the rest of the world and still be prosperous. It was really a shame, since Fanelia had been famous for its military strength. Zaibach had been smart at planning its first and most deadly attack upon Fanelia in order to cripple it. That way Zaibach was sure to have a the best chance to dominate. Too bad that they were idiots about going about it. That's why they were destroyed. They didn't know how to use the resources they had in their possession.

He made it a point not to make the same mistake.

He decided to check in with the asset that would ensure his rise to power. He lit a torch and walked towards the one-way window looking into the queen's cell. 

He could make out her sleeping form within the dark room. He had watched her sometimes. It turns out that the queen of Fanelia was an intriguing sort of woman. Most people in her situation would be a nervous wreck or furious or would have already tried to escape. At the very least there would have been bribery.  But the queen had tried none of that. For the past three days she's sat in her cell, looking more bored than anything else, sometimes getting a far off look in her pale green eyes. She was always polite, never complained about the conditions she was in. 

Korin smiled to himself. Perhaps it would be easier to try to control the queen than the king.

Just then the twin moons of the sky must have come out from behind a cloud, their light shinning through the high opening on the ceiling of he queen's cell. The pale moonlight shone down on her form.

Suddenly Korin's eyes went wide as he caught sight of a glimmer on her finger. There it was: the ring with the royal Fanelian crest. The very same one he had removed from her when she had been kidnapped.

He ran to the entrance of the cell and through it open, rage consuming him. He stomped over to the woman and lifted her up by her arm.

"IRISHIKO!!!" he yelled, thrashing her violently. 

The woman let out a small chuckle. "Didn't I tell you I'd find a way around this?"

Korin cursed loudly and took hold of both her arms. "You think you've outsmarted me? You forget how well I know you, Iko. Believe me when I tell you that before this is over, you'll be begging me for your life."

Irishiko looked straight into his eyes. 

"I don't believe you'll have the heart," she whispered coolly.

He lifted a brow at her, his eyes flashing. "We'll see."

He stormed out of the room, dragging the woman behind him, fire burning in his amber eyes.

~*~

"I've got a bad feeling about this," the usually stoic Ivan spoke up as their group turned at the large tree into the forest that would lead them to Lancen's old cabin. 

"Do you see something?" Ero asked.

"No," the black haired man responded, "But I can't shake the feeling that something isn't right."

Van had to agree. Ever since Irishiko had left, there had been this awful feeling in his stomach, but he convinced himself it was nothing more than the effects of stress. Though in his heart, he knew better.

"Have a little faith in the Boos, will ya?" Pye spoke up, "She always comes through."

"Just stay alert," Ero said. With that the rest of the way was silent until they reached the clearing where the cabin stood.

"See? What did I tell ya?" Pye quipped when they spotted Irishiko's horse tied to the nearby tree.

There were comments of relief and 'I told you so's. _But, Van thought, _if everything's okay, why don't I feel better?__

 Everyone dismounted and made their way over to the cabin to find out what Irishiko's new plan would be.

They walked inside the old shack, the door creaking open. It was pitch black inside, and no sight of anyone. Van's senses perked up. Something was definitely not right.

Ero sensed it almost immediately and therefore drew his crossbow, motioning for Ivan, Pye and Lancen to wait outside. 

"Iri-sama?" Ero called out softly, silenty praying that she would answer.

There wasn't a sound.

Van kept his hand at his sword, ready for anything. "If there's someone here, show yourself!" he said forcefully with all the authority of a king.

"Van?"

The voice was almost an inaudible whisper of a woman. There was sound of movement and Ero breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Irishiko emerge from the shadows. His relief was to be replaced by pain when she let out a chocked sob and flung herself into Van's arms, holding on to him as if for dear life.

"Van, you're really here! I was so afraid!" her voice came muffled from his shoulder.

Van was in shock and it took him a moment to recover.

"Sezarina?" he asked in an incredulous voice. He pulled away form her to look at her. 

Ero stared as Van removed the mask from her face only to receive the surprise that it was not Irishiko but…

"Sezarina!" Van recognized her and pulled her into his arms once again. "I don't believe it, I thought...How?" He was at a loss for words.

"I'm not even sure, it happened to fast!" the queen stuttered, relieved beyond words, "It all happened so fast. It felt like I'd been there forever when she suddenly came and then she said she would take my place and I escaped and I've been waiting here because she said you would come." She hugged Van even tighter. "And you came, you're really here." The tears flowed once again.

"Shh," Van stroked her hair much as he did with his daughter Varie, "It's all okay now."

Ero couldn't get over how similar the queen was to Irishiko. He had believed Sezarina to be Irishiko! It was almost uncanny…

And, both he and Van realized at the same moment, Irishiko had known.

She had planned a switch all along.

"SHIT!" Ero cursed as he ran outside. 

Van saw him leave and taking Sezarina with him, followed. 

Ero was already mounting a horse, muttering under his breath cursing Irishiko's stubbornness and disregard for her own life.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Van called to him.

"I'm going after her. I won't leave her in the hands of that crazy bastard!" Ero said matter-of-factly.

"You're not going anywhere without me," Van commanded. He turned to Sezarina. "We have to help her. I have to go." He looked at Pye, Ivan and a very confused Lancen. "Trust them, they'll keep you safe. We'll be back."

"Are you going after her and Mohku?" the queen asked.

Everyone but Van and Lancen froze.

"Did you say Mohku?" Ero's voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

Sezarina raised confused pale green eyes to Ero. "Yes, I did. He's also a prisoner of that awful man."

Ero numbly nodded and gave a hand up to Van who mounted behind him and they took off towards the main city of Fanelia.

Van wondered what was going on as they rode along, trusting the Ero knew where he was going. "Why did you ask her that? Who's this Mohku?"

Ero wondered how many shocks he could receive in one day. "You mean you don't know? She didn't tell you?"

Van set his jaw. More secrets. Just how long did she plan to keep things from him? 

"I don't think she did," Van answered.

Ero's brow furrowed as he tried to find the best way to tell him, but since they didn't have time to be delicate, he bluntly said, "Mohku is Irishiko's supposedly dead husband."

Van felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Her dead husband? 

"I'm surprised but I can understand that she wouldn't tell you how deep all this goes for her," Ero continued as they raced down the streets of the dark city. "I found out the other day."

"Care to fill me in?" Van asked, dying to know just exactly was in store for him.

Ero cleared his throat uncomfortably as they slowed down, nearing their destination. They stopped a few streets down from what Ero remembered to be Korin's place, his anger and worry growing as remembered just what this man was capable of.

"Korin and Irishiko have been feuding for a long time," Ero explained quietly as they dismounted. "At the beginning he kidnapped her husband in order to stop the work of the Akan. When she refused to comply, Korin killed her husband. Or at least that's what she believed. Apparently, things are different."

Van set his jaw, feeling a greater level of hate for the man who had caused so much suffering to the woman he loved.

"I'll kill him," Van growled, narrowing his eyes.

"Not if I get there first," Ero responded.

With Ero leading the way, they walked discretely towards Korin's place.

~*~

TBC…

This chapter is dedicated to Maboroshi Tsuki for her relentless and rant-like reviews. Anne, you brighten my day! ^_~

Baracuda here. How many of you are ready to kill me right now for that cliffhanger. I technically shouldn't even be writing at all and look! I wrote six pages worth of this stuff for the love of you people! I now have to cram for the oral part of my Japanese final and I don't have a bloody clue as to what I'm doing. GAH!!!!

Next chapter will be out soon! Till then!

--Youjibaracuda

"To retire is not to flee, and there is no wisdom in waiting when danger outweighs hope, and it is the part of wise men to preserve themselves today for tomorrow, and not risk all in one day"

--Sancho Panza, _Don Quixote de la Mancha_


	19. Nineteen

© May 2003

DISCLAIMER: You know what these say, so I'm not going to bother. Read on.

Her green eyes followed his movements as he paced back and forth in front of her like a caged animal, the rage in his eyes should have been a warning. A warning she didn't heed as she smirked knowingly at him.

SLAP!

Her hair had fallen over her turned face, the sting in her right cheek throbbing, but she didn't utter a sound.

"It was about time someone wiped that self-righteous smile off your face," he growled at her. "It's annoying."

She knew that she was going to have an ugly bruise where he'd just hit her, so she didn't push him and bit back the smart remark she was going to make. For now, anyway.

"Why do you constantly insist in getting in my way?" he demanded.

"Why do you constantly do things that you know will catch my attention?' she retorted. 

Now Korin was smirking at her. They both knew what the answer to their questions were, but neither would be the one to voice it. 

He stepped closer to her, peering into her face, taking advantage of the fact that her arms and legs were shackled between two posts. 

"This could have ended long ago," he whispered in an almost kind voice, much as if he were a father scolding his stubborn child. "We wouldn't have had to do this dance for so many years if you simply would have consented to let me do as I wished."

Now it was her turn to be enraged. "What kind of imbecile do you take me for? If you think that I would ever let a madman like you get away with doing all the things that he was programmed to do, you've got another things coming. And it makes you as crazy as I've always said you were."

The fury in his eyes made her prepare herself for another slap, one which didn't come.

"It was a stupid mistake then, wasn't it?" he spat out, walking away from her and over to a small table and picked up the sword that lay there. He carefully unsheathed it, letting it catch in the light as he brought it parallel to his face. 

"This is where it ends, Iko. The way it should have ended long ago," he said to her in a voice that sounded almost bored.

Her green eyes held his, as she frantically searched for something in them. It wasn't the first time that Korin had threatened to end her life, but something within him always seemed to stop him. She began to panic when saw that, unlike all the other times, his eyes remained cold and full of hatred as he came advancing towards her.

This was it. 

He was really going to do it, this time. 

She was really going to die.

_I'm sorry, Van._

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Nineteen~*~

A crash from the outside froze Korin mid-swing, and one of his men stumbled inside, slightly bleeding from the arrow lodged in his shoulder.

Irishiko recognized Ero's signature firing and was filled with such unwarranted relief that her knees nearly gave out. 

"Sir! We're being attacked!" the man cried, fear evident in his voice. "It's just two men, but I've never seen such voracity! They've already taken down half of the men here!"

Korin quickly grabbed the scabbard of his sword and tied it to his belt, seeming to completely forget about Irishiko at the moment.

"Get out of here," he barked to the man, "Tell everyone to scatter for now, since it's obvious that our hideout has been compromised. Lay low for a while, but get out of here, NOW!"

The man obeyed and rushed out to give the order. Korin spun of his heel and made his way quickly over to another door on the opposite end of the room. He glanced at Irishiko briefly before disappearing.

And she felt a twinge of hope as she finally found in his eyes what she'd been looking for before she passed out.

~*~

Van and Ero were moving quickly, Korin's men posing no real threat to them, which truly surprised Ero. He would have thought that a man like Korin would surround himself with more adequate people. Oh well, he shrugged it off. It just made their job easier.

Van had to admire Ero's fighting instincts, and since Van knew that Ero was too young to have been in the War of Fate, he briefly wondered just how many times the Akan had to put up physical resistance.

As man after man went down, Van noticed that one of the ones that had been hit in the shoulder by Ero had run hastily into a room down the long hallway where they were fighting. A short time later, he saw the same man run out of the room and head away from them, shouting orders of evacuation. 

Somehow, Van knew that there they would find Korin. 

He fueled the rage within him, but being careful to keep it in check. No need for heedless mistakes. He quickly motioned to Ero of his intentions and they made their way towards the room as they finished off the last of their attackers. For some reason, more weren't appearing. _That must have been that evacuation call_, Van mused for a second until Ero came to his side. He nodded to the closed door before them, and they prepared themselves for what they would find.

However, they weren't at all prepared to find what they did.

Irishiko, tied up between two posts at the far end of the room, her arms bound and spread out to her sides so she couldn't move. 

Van's heart nearly stopped when he caught sight of her dropped head, how her body remained motionless even though their entrance had been noisy. His breathing quickened as he made his way over to her, dropping his sword to the floor.

"Hitomi?" his voice was shaky, and his hands hovered over her, afraid to touch her. There was a bit a relief when he noticed her shallow breathing. 

He pushed back the tears that stung his eyes and turned to see that Ero wore the exact same expression. Van motioned for him to cut down the ropes that bound her as he slipped an arm gingerly around her waist to hold her up. Once she was free, he lightly lowered her onto the floor, kneeling and cradling her head in his arms. 

He brushed her hair away from her face gently and Ero knelt by them, glancing at her briefly, but keeping a lookout for any danger while Van attended to her.

"Hitomi, can you hear me?" Van asked, softly stroking her head.

To both his and Ero's relief, she groaned and moved her head slightly, opening her eyes.

"Van?" she asked in a raspy voice.

"Yeah, it's me," he said smiling at her, "Everything's fine now. I'm here."

"You sacred us there for a while, Iri-sama," Ero quipped with a smirk.

She didn't answer, only shut her eyes tightly once more, pushing back the massive headache that was trapping her brain. He ran his eyes over her, searching for injuries. Sitting down and laying her head in his lap, Van moved to remove the rope from her wrists. 

The fear for her life now gone, all that was left was rage and pure hatred for the man that had done this to her. It only escalated as he saw the raw flesh where the rope had bit into her skin. He also couldn't ignore the red and white mark in the form of a hand that was looking ugly on her right cheek.

She lifted her eyes to her forehead, and avoiding the eyes of both men as she sat up shakily.

"Are you alright?" Van asked, frowning and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine," she said, subtly shrugging his hand away and rubbing her sore wrists, her loose dark hair falling over her face. 

Ero was now getting a good look at her injuries and an angry frown came over his features.

"Where is he?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes flickered to the door she'd seen Korin disappear into, but looked away quickly.

"I'm not sure," she lied. 

Van hadn't caught her tell-tale glance, but Ero had, and he wondered why she was lying. It was almost as if she was trying to protect Korin in some way.

"Are you sure, you're alright?" Van asked her once again.

"Yes, Van I'm fine," she insisted, "Just…just get me out of here."

"I will," he told her, kissing her forehead lightly, "But not before I get him."

With that he stood up and grabbed his sword, walking towards the door where Korin had gone through earlier.

Her eyes went wide, her breath hitching, but before she could protest, she caught sight of Ero's probing stare. She shut her mouth and looked away, and Ero silently followed Van.

They'd been gone for a few minutes before she picked herself up off the ground, grabbing one of the poles she'd been tied to earlier to steady her when she was overcome with a wave of dizziness. After a few deep breaths to steady her nerves, she made her way to the doorway Van and Ero had walked through. She entered an empty room that connected to another hallway. The room was dark, lit only by a small candle that was burning steadily on a nearby table. She glanced around and found no signs of a struggle. Obviously Korin had not been here when Van and Ero had passed through. Her mind told her to keep moving, to find him before they did, but something drew her to the table. Her eyes ran over the various vial and liquid concoctions, much like what would be found in a science lab. She focused, pushing back the often nostalgic thoughts of her life back on Earth, looking unknowingly for something. That's when her jade eyes landed on a small brown vial, the only one that was uncorked and empty on the table. She picked it up, curious and brought it to her nose.

Her eyes went wide and her heart sank to the floor. 

Quickly, she looked around for a weapon, just in case. 

~*~

Van and Ero had finally found Korin and had been able to corner him a small room. Much to their disappointment, he didn't put up much of an opposition.  He was quickly disarmed from the sword that he had (in retrospect, it was something both Van and Ero found strange…almost as if Korin wasn't even trying to defend himself).

Korin backed slowly away, a grin on his face, but fear in his eyes.

"Really, what do you want to accomplish here? Defend the honor of that tramp?" his smile grew when he saw he'd hit a nerve, "You have no idea what she is, or what she's done. Once you did, I'm sure you wouldn't be defending her so quickly."

"Perhaps. But whatever she's done is nothing compared to all that you've done," Ero growled.

"Sacrifices had to be made," Korin shrugged. "It was a price to be paid."

"You will pay with your life," Van said darkly. Korin continued to smile and said nothing.

"Now is when you die," Ero growled with a raised crossbow. Ero shot the arrow straight at Korin's chest. True to its mark, the blow brought Korin to his knees and Van prepared to make the final strike.

"NOO!!!"

Both Van and Ero froze, recognizing the voice. Irishiko ran into the room, a sword gripped tightly in one hand and a small brown vial in the other. She marched over to the fallen man.

"Why?!" she demanded angrily, "Why are you baiting them into killing you?"

The man raised his amber gaze to her, gasping for breath as he bled on the floor, but didn't respond.

"And if you knew that they'd kill you, why the hell did you drink the only poison that could kill you?" she asked, holding up the brown vial. 

Ero blinked in surprise. The man had taken poison? What for? Things were not making any sense.

"Because I knew you try to stop them, just like you're doing now, Iko," the fallen man said almost tenderly accompanied by a small chuckle.

"Son of a bitch," she muttered as she smashed the vial into a thousand pieces on the ground. Tossing her sword aside, she knelt down in front of him and pulled Ero's arrow from his chest, to which he gave a grunt of pain.

"How could you do this to me?" she demanded as she ripped off the hem of her dress to try to stop the bleeding, her movements quick and rough to hide the way her hands were shaking with both rage and fear. "Why would you be so damn selfish?"

"Do you think I wanted this to happen?" the man snapped back at her, suddenly with surprising strength. "Believe me, it is not my wish to die!"

Van didn't understand what was going on. He glanced at the redhead beside him and saw that Ero was equally lost. Van's mind said he should finish all of this now, his fingers itching for revenge upon Korin. He had ruined everything for him and Van was going to make sure that he paid for the suffering he had caused to all the valuable people in Van's life. But he had an unshakeable feeling that he was intruding on something private, like a moment he shouldn't be witnessing, much less be a part of. And that unsettled him, since it had to do with the woman he loved and her arch-enemy.

It was quiet for a while, before Irishiko lowered her gaze and concentrated on trying to stop his still bleeding chest. At the same time she was trying to keep herself under control. He was losing so much blood…

He placed his hand over hers, gently removing the pressure she was applying over the wound. "Don't bother, Iko. We both know it's no good. This is going to end one way or another."

Silence once again.

"Why then?" Irishiko's raspy voice broke the silence.

The amber eyed devil smiled at her sadly. "Because I have to put a stop to Korin once and for all," he said gently, "All this time I've been afraid to it because I knew that this was the only way. I selfishly nursed the idea that we could be together again, despite him because I could always control him. But just now, what he did to you, I realized I didn't have control anymore. I decided it had to end, even though it meant my death." He ran his fingers across her cheek lightly. "He won't hurt you anymore."

Van's hands tightened around the handle of his sword. How dare he touch her like that? So tenderly and warmly, calling her by a sickenly intimate nickname. How dare she allow it? Who exactly was this man?

"Mohku," Irishiko answered the unvoiced question, "There has to be a way to stop him and save you. I refuse to believe…"

"Look at me, Iko," Mohku interrupted, lifting her chin to see her green eyes, "This is the only way."

She vigorously shook her head and flung her arms around him, pressing her body to his, ignoring his blood seeping through the front of her dress.

"No, please," she pleaded, the edge in her voice gone, only desperation in its place as tears spilled from her eyes. "Don't leave me again, Mohku. Not again."

He wrapped his arms around her, closing his eyes and breathing into her hair in such a way that it made Van's blood boil with jealousy and rage. Even so, he remained rooted to his spot, not wanting to look, but unable to move his gaze away. He didn't want to think about the way she had begged for him not to die. Or what she said next.

"Take me with you," Irishiko begged, still holding on to Mohku.

He shook his head sadly. "You can't. Not—not yet," his breath was beginning to become struggled, "You still have so much to do in this world."

"I don't care!"

"Yes—yes, you do. I know you, Iko. Promise me…promise me you won't ever give up what we started."

The woman remained silent.

"Irishiko!" he said with urgency.

"I promise," she said softly, moving to look into his eyes.

Mohku seemed to relax at her words but his eyes looked past her to rest on the men behind her.

"Do—Does he know?" Mohku asked raggedly.

Irishiko looked over her shoulder to see that he was referring to Van. She nodded solemnly and turned back to look at her husband once more.

"I'm so sorry ab—about all of this, Your Highness," Mohku addressed Van. "Please make my ap—apologies to Sezarina. You…you're a very lucky man to have the love of two wonderful women." Mohku closed his eyes for a minute to the pain. "I also wanted to thank you. If not for—for you, I would have never known complete happiness."

Van opened his mouth to respond but found that he couldn't due to the conflicting emotions he was feeling at the moment. But he couldn't help but be once again overwhelmed by the feeling like he didn't belong there, as if he were a stranger that had stumbled upon something he was not a part of.

"It's almost over," Mohku whispered.

Irishiko snapped to attention, her breathing rapid, near panic.

"I d—don't have much more time," Mohku told her, grabbing her face with both hands, fear evident on his features. His eyes looked at her as if memorizing her every feature, knowing that he would most likely never look upon her again. 

"When you came into my life," he told his wife, "I thought that there was no way I could have p—possibly deserved you. And even though your true self belonged to him, you found a place for me in your heart. I—I could never ask for m—more from the world. Then…then you gave me Ehli…an—and I never knew that I was capable of f—feeling so much."

Irishiko was sobbing now at the mention of her son but remained silent, letting Mohku continue.

"I c—cannot be selfish and ask to keep you with me forever. I'm content with the knowledge t—that you carry the whole of my heart…and that I carry a s—small part of yours."

Irishiko flew forward and crushed her lips to his in a kiss that was mixed with tears and grief, meant to be a last reminder of what they had been. They broke apart, foreheads still together.

"I love you," he whispered to her and after looking into her eyes oncemore, he closed his eyes, letting the hands that held her slip to the floor, lifeless.

"No…" Irishiko shook her head and caught his head before it made contact with the floor. She lowered it slowly to the floor, shaking his slightly. "Mohku…" she murmured his name over and over, each time with more urgency, as if her calling to his would bring him back to her. 

Then she bent over and bitterly wept over the dead man, her hands gripping his shirt tightly.

Just then, Ivan and Pye burst through the door with Sezarina in tow. They had come to give their help to Ero and Van but they stopped in their tracks when they stumbled upon the scene before them: Ero and Van were standing as if dumbstruck looking down at Irishiko, who was still dressed in the queen's wardrobe and weeping over what appeared to be a dead body.

Sezarina, also still dressed in Irishiko's clothing, pushed past Ivan and Pye when she caught sight of the platinum blonde head that was cradled in the other woman's arms.

"Good heavens! Mohku!" she cried, rushing to kneel at Irishiko's side. She saw the blood that seeped through his shirt and that also clung to Irishiko's garments and felt a wave of nausea, having to fight back the urge to scream in horror. Unlike her husband, she wasn't used to seeing bloody deaths.

"What happened?" she asked shakily.

Van moved and brought his wife to her feet.

"I'm sure everything will be cleared up later," he said in a voice that sounded raspy. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what were the exact circumstances under which Sezarina knew the man.

Sezarina frowned at him before returning her gaze to Irishiko.

The latter's crying had ceased and she placed a kiss on her dead husabnd's forehead before completely letting him go.

There was an awful silence for a while as no one dared move or speak.

Finally Irishiko gathered herself together and stood up, keeping her face hidden from everyone as she left the room.

~*~

TBC…

 Baracuda here. I know, I know, probably my most evil chapter ever. But I promise things will be cleared up, and soon. Boy, the next chapter will have a ton of explanations…

Anyhoo…

I'M FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GOT As IN ALL MY CLASSES ('cept for Japanese, I got a B) AND NO MORE SCHOOL TILL AUGUST BABY!!!!! AND AX'03 IN JULY!!!!! PARTY!!!

 Okay, I'm feeling *extremely* guilty about pretty much stuffing this fic in a corner while I tried to finish school. And even after I was done, I didn't touch it because I was so frustrated about the Alias season finale that I plunged head first into the fanfiction. Of course, I love the non-conventional Sarkney variety, just because, quite frankly, Sark is damn hot. I love little white boys like him. And the British accent just makes me completely melt along with those gorgeous blue eyes and crocked bottom lip and…*realizes she's drooling*

*ahem* sorry. My point is, that I've been distracted. ^_^ but no more! (well, until someone updates, and of course, re-runs. Not to mention all that stuff I have on tape….O.O but I digress…)

We are in the home stretch of this fic, so sit tight while the next four or five chapters are written along with three different endings. Yeesh. I have yet to decide which one to use. -_-;

So thanks for sticking with me, all of you! (especially you, Cece. Remember that I luv you! And that you luv me…^^;)

*huggle*

anyhoo, I'm going to take a trip back to the place I love so dear: the big apple. So, don't be surprised if I go MIA for the rest of June. Gomen. 

--Youjibaracuda

"I don't think you'd accept my help, since I'm only waiting around to kill you."

"That does put a damper on our relationship. I'm afraid you'll just have to wait."

"::mumbles::I hate waiting. ::shouts down:: I could give you my word as a Spaniard!"

"No good. I've known too many Spaniards."

--_The Princess Bride_


	20. Twenty

Flowers. They were blood red roses, probably the only things that were the same on Gaea as they were on Earth.

She held a bit of soft petals in her hand, fingering their softness for a little while. Then she let them fall to the ground, the wind picking them up in mid air and swirling them around the small and nearly obscure grave. 

Had she been thinking clearly, she would have appreciated the greatness of Van's heart to even allow her to bury Mohku Korin Maeo at all. After all, it was the same man who had not only married the love of his life, but in his madness kidnapped the Queen of Fanelia. 

But she wasn't thinking clearly. 

She wasn't even really thinking. 

She wasn't doing much of anything.

She was just…_existing_.

And that was the real truth. She was alive but she did couldn't actually be called 'living'. 

There were no tears in her eyes. Those had been shed long ago by someone who she no longer was. There was nothing else. She couldn't even feel the emptiness. She wasn't Hitomi, she wasn't Irishiko, she wasn't anyone anymore. How could she possibly feel, possibly _be anyone if she was empty? _

The sun set on that horrifically eventful day, but to her it had seemed to have lasted an eternity.

She turned without a word, she allowed Sezarina to lead her back to the castle to the secluded room she had asked for, to continue existing by herself.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Twenty~*~

Sezarina liked to be in control of things. 

As soon as Irishiko had walked out of that dark room, Sezarina found a sheet to cover up the body with.

"I want a burial for him," she quietly informed Van, who had a dazed look on his face and therefore didn't present an argument. 

They had gotten out of there and made their way back to the castle discreetly. The queen promptly saw to taking care of Irishiko, who had not uttered a word to anyone. Meanwhile, Van gave the rest of his companions places to rest and then proceeded to arrange a meeting with his council as soon as they awoke. 

The castle awoke to find their queen once again with them, and there was much rejoicing among those who had known of her disappearance. Soon afterwards, Van set out to retrieve his children, leaving Sezarina in charge of all that she wanted to do.

The queen took care of Mohku's burial in a small plot of land towards the outskirts of the city, at his widow's request.

Irishiko had only spoken to Sezarina briefly once they had gotten into the castle, requesting a black mourning dress. After that, Irishiko had stayed in the small room she had asked for in an obscure part of the castle (the location of which she had asked to be kept private since she desired no visitors).

Later in the day, Sezarina went to look for Irishiko to take her to her husband's grave.

There had been no explanations.

It wasn't the time for them.

~*~  
  


"Mommy!" Varie jumped from her father's arms to rush to her mother, followed closely by her brothers.

Sezarina let the tears run down her face as she held her children, thanking God for allowing her to be with them once again.

Van stood back and watched as they pelted her with excited questions, making her laugh and cry all at once. Merle came to stand beside him.

"I'm glad it's all over," she said turning to his with a smile. "You must be so relieved!"

Van merely nodded and said nothing.

Merle frowned. "What, Van? What's the matter with you? You've been acting weird since you came to get us this morning."

"Nothing, Merle, everything's fine," he answered automatically.

Merle held back a growl. He was keeping something from her, and she knew it. And she hated it. 

She grabbed his arms and dragged him into a nearby empty room and shut the door. 

"I hate it when you keep things from me, but I hate it even more when you lie to me, Van Fanel," she told him angrily, hands at her hips, "We've been friends for too long for me to deserve that! Now tell me what the hell's the matter with you!"

Van sighed and dropped down into a nearby chair covering his face with his hands and letting out a frustrated growl. He was too tired, too emotionally drained to deal with Merle right now, but she was right. She didn't deserve to be lied to.

But he couldn't go into it right now. Not when he wasn't even sure of what was really going on.

"You're right, Merle. There's a lot more to this than what I've told you, but I have to talk first with Sezarina and then see if I can sort it all out myself."

He met he gaze, pleading with his eyes for her to let this go for a while. "But when everything's settled, I'll tell you everything, I promise."

Merle looked hesitant to accept those terms, but she could do nothing more than nod.

~*~

"We need to talk," Van said softly to Sezarina one day later that week. 

His wife looked up at him and nodded, letting him lead her into a private room. He closed the door while she sat down in a nearby chair, placing her hands gingerly on her lap.

Van paced a little in front of her, unsure how to start the conversation. He had vowed to always be honest with Sezarina, his love for her as a member of his family not letting him keep secrets from her. But how could he possibly explain to her what had happened while she had been held prisoner? 

"I've been wondering how long you would wait before telling me," Sezarina answered him.

Van raised an eyebrow at her, an uncomfortable knot forming in his stomach. 

"Tell you what?"

Sezarina kept her light green eyes unwavering while she answered in a surprisingly smooth tone. "That the woman who saved my life is Hitomi Kanzaki."

Van felt his jaw drop. He didn't expect for Sezarina to know anything about that.

His wife smiled seeing his astonishment. "Van, I'm not an idiot, I can figure things out, even before she told me herself," she explained.

She motioned for him to sit beside her to which he complied. She took his hands in hers and spoke softly.

"I know this must have been so hard for you. I'm so sorry about how things turned out with Hitomi and everything else and I'm sorry for the part I played in it," she told him. 

"Sezarina, it wasn't your fault," Van interrupted her. "If anything I should apologize to you."

Van looked down at their hands, wondering how it was that he propelled himself this far in trouble. How could he explain what happened?

"Van," Sezarina said with a small smile, "I've told you this before. You love Hitomi. I know she's the only one that can make you truly happy. I want you to be happy, Van, please don't concern yourself over me."

Van sighed. Sometimes Sezarina could be as stubborn as…well, as Hitomi. "Please don't say that Sezarina. I _am_ concerned about you. Whatever else we are, you are part of my family. I can't be selfish about this because it isn't right and it isn't fair to anyone. It isn't fair to you or to her."

Sezarina nodded and let go of his hands.

"Have you talked to her?" she asked him after a moment.

"No," he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel a headache coming on. "I haven't really seen her since she arrived."

Sezarina's eyebrows shot up in question. "Really? Well, that's surprising," she mumbled. "I guess she'll talk when she's ready to talk. Poor girl's been through so much."

"You have no idea," Van agreed.

"Actually, I do have a general idea," Sezarina said. "I talked to that man named Ero."

Now it was Van's turn to be surprised. "Oh, did you?"

She nodded. "I talked to him before he left."

"What?! Ero left? When?" Van asked, alarmed. 

"He left very early yesterday. The day before that, Hitomi had me deliver a letter to him. Then he asked for some supplies and he left. He said he had told you…"

Van shook his head. "He didn't. She probably told him not to tell me. He still has to follow her orders. He didn't mention when he was coming back?"

Sezarina thought for a moment. "I think so. He wasn't specific, he just said he'd be back when she asked for him. I assume that means she'll be in contact with him."

Van nodded slowly. Things were bad and they weren't getting any better. There was too much being hidden, too much he didn't know, and no one coming forward with any answers. He didn't like it in the least but there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. 

It was enough to drive him insane.

He sighed and Sezarina pulled his head down onto her shoulder, softly running a hand through his hair, willing him to relax.

"Don't worry, Van. Things will sort themselves out, you'll see," she whispered to him quietly, like she would anyone of her children.

Van closed his eyes for a moment, trying to stop the racing thoughts that clouded his mind. 

But he instinctively felt that he was being watched.

He lifted his head from his wife's shoulder and looked to the door.

There she stood, in the black velvet dress given to her by Sezarina that made her skin look extremely pale and her green eyes stand out.

"I have a story to tell you," she said simply.

~*~

She sat facing the window, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her back strait. Her long hair was picked up in small tendrils that cascaded down her back.

Her face was blank, her eyes so heart-wrenchingly hollow it twisted Van's heart, even after everything that had happened.

It wasn't fair that her life would have turned out so horribly.

"Mohku Korin Maeo was a good man," she began, her voice coolly detached and slightly hoarse. "Probably one of the best men I've ever known."

She took a shaky breath. 

"He was born in Zaibach, to a family of reputable decent. His father was actually Fanelian, a swordsmaster. He taught his son as much as he could before his death. Mohku, being an only child, looked after his mother until her death some years later. It was around that time that the Zaibach government recruited him into the special division of their military."

Her eyes gazed off into the distance outside the window, feeling like she was traveling over space and time, back to the place that Emperor Donkirk had created. She remembered what it was like to be in that horrible place: the stale smell, the iron and electricity. The complete lack of nature.

She couldn't believe the sound of her own voice continuing out of it's own will, spilling forth details as if it had been programmed to do so.

"Mohku was part of a special group that was working with the sorcerers. He went of his free will at first, until he realized what they were doing there: human experimentation. When he tried to escape, they held him captive, forcing the tests, the experiments. They wanted to know how to alter someone's fate. How to make a normally passive person into an aggressive military force; with the ability for strategy where there had once been none; taking existing fighting instincts and having them honed to precision."

Her voice then hardened. "They were experimenting to try to separate the warrior from the pacifist. They worked on manipulating a person's 'fate'. In reality what they were doing was trying to create the perfect army of programmed soldiers. Mohku was put through it unwillingly.  He was turned into another person, someone who went by the name Korin. Korin was manipulative and scheming, the ideal warrior. But the program still had any flaws. Korin and Mohku were two different people dwelling in the same body, switching back and forth when it was necessary. It was working out just fine for a couple of months before things started to fall apart. Korin and Mohku would fight for constant control, making him a very unstable person, over all. The sorcerers watched him and took the information, finding ways to perfect the process, realizing it would be easier with subjects that were younger. Eventually, they believed to have perfected the procedure. Dillandou Albatou was believed to be their greatest success."

She paused here for a minute, not daring to look back at Van, but knowing instinctively that he was controlling his temper as best he could. She was certain the subject of the man who destroyed Fanelia was still a touchy subject.

The world outside was creeping into late afternoon. The sun was slowly descending signaling the coming of night. She felt herself to be suddenly distant and detached.

"Mohku was given treatment in Zaibach that was supposed to reverse the effects of the procedure and then he was let go. Somehow, he got himself to Freid where he received additional help from the monks there. After about two years of struggle, he finally found himself free of Korin. It was all no more than a bad nightmare.

"While in Freid Mohku met Dryden who recommended he move to Asturia and start his life over. Mohku took his advice and lived a simple life in the rural parts of that country, content with simply being able to be himself.

"The War of Fate came and went with very little effect upon him. More time passed, and he was happy."

She stopped here, the sun was now directly before her, burning with an orange light so bright that it made her eyes burn and tears well up in them.

"One evening, someone came to his door. A woman of about twenty, with sad eyes and dark hair. She asked for a place to stay, and he didn't have the heart to turn her away. She'd learnt from Dryden that Mohku was had been a swordsmaster and she wanted him to teach her. He reluctantly agreed and their friendship commenced."

She closed her eyes for a moment, letting a solitary tear slip down her cheek as she steeled herself against the pain of the memory of those times. She'd tried to heal her broken heart, she'd tried to move on with her life, fully devote herself to someone who she'd come to deeply respect and had allowed herself to care for. She would have given anything to go back to those times, where her life seemed to be coming together with a renewed sense of purpose.

She took a steadying breath and pressed on, knowing that if she stopped now, she'd never tell them what they were in every right to know.

"Eventually," she continued, "They grew closer and cared deeply for each other. So deeply, in fact, that marriage was spoken of. Knowing that she couldn't very well marry him without telling him about her past, she made him privy to her life story to which he responded with his own. "The wedding proceeded as planned, with little but a few close friends in attendance, but they were happy.

"They moved back to Zaibach, where there had been considerable improvements since the war, hoping to establish a family there. But they realized that the political corruption that had spread throughout Gaea was bringing nothing but suffering to others. The authorities were not doing their part. They couldn't. it was too much. So, along with the aid of some friends who had similar goals for a better Gaea, Mohku and Irishiko established the Akarui Kon."

She stopped for a moment, letting it sink in, feeling the weight of her words as a tangible force in the room, seeming to want to enclose her. She was grateful that her audience had kept quiet until now. She wouldn't have been able to handle it otherwise. 

"Less than a year later, a son was born to Mohku," she said, her voice softening at the memory. "A darling little boy named Ehli, who had locks of gold and eyes to match. He was the dearest thing in the world to everyone who knew him."

Her throat constricted painfully around the next words. "Five years later, in Basram, some tried to put an end to the Akan by setting a fire at the inn they were supposedly staying in. But they were only successful in taking innocent lives…Ehli's among them."

"It broke his family," she plunged on, ignoring her tears, knowing that if she stopped, she wouldn't be able to control herself enough to finish with the most painful part. "What Irishiko hadn't known……what _I hadn't known then is just how badly it affected Mohku._

"He'd been having problems of late with a resurfacing of Korin within him. After the death of his only son, he snapped completely. Korin was completely against everything that the Akan stood for, and quickly sought to end their work. That's how the feud began. No one knew about Mohku's condition and I never disclosed it until now."

Suddenly, there was no air. She was going to suffocate if she didn't get out of there right at that moment.

She stood up abruptly, startling her stunned audience. 

She didn't remember even moving across the room when she heard Sezarina call after her just as she walked out the door.

~*~

TBC…

B/N: *looks around* Whoa. Escaflowne. It seems like it's been forever since I've even wandered in this section of ff.n and for that I apologize. I didn't mean to go MIA for so long. And for those of you that are still reading this: you are true fans. Rock on. I can't tell you how much I appreciate that you'd stick with me even after I neglected you in the most horrible manner (and just gave you the crappiest chapter known to mankind). I've been busy with other things lately, such as school and the fact that I have become a complete Alias junkie. David Anders is just soooo hot, I can't help it. =^_^= season three!!! Yey!! And I've been writing fanfiction for that too (shameless plug: ). 

As for this story, never fear! I've been given a deadline which is under the penalty of death and/or losing best-friend-status, so this will be done by Thanksgiving. That's a promise set in stone.

So for now, laugh, watch anime and rock on.

Cheers.

--Youjibaracuda

"It will be extremely difficult, sire."

"Try ruling the world sometime."

--_The Princess Bride_


	21. Twenty One

Oct. 2003

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Escaflowne. Yes, yes, I'm devastated too.

All I Need

By Youjibaracuda

~*~Twenty One~*~

_'Hitomi.'_

Silence.

_'Hitomi, please, talk to me,'_ Van implored, hoping that she would respond to his mental calling. He'd been trying to get her to talk to him for the past three days, ever since she had told them the story of her husband.

Truthfully, he was having inner turmoil about the whole thing. And even though there were holes in that story he could fly Escaflowne through, he'd somehow resigned himself to the fact that there was simply no way that he would ever be able to understand just what it took for her to go through all of the things that happened in her life.

All he wanted right now, was to make sure she would be alright.

'_Hitomi! Don't shut me out, please,' he was nearly begging her._

_'Stop it, Van,_' her voice replied harshly.

'_No, I won't stop. Not until we finish working all of this out' Van insisted. _'I won't go away, Hitomi. You aren't alright. Let me help you.'__

There was a bitter sounding chuckle as a response to this. '_Is that a fact?'_

_'Yes,'_ he answered firmly.

Then he was suddenly pulled away from his reality, having his surroundings disappear only to be replaced by a seemingly endless black nothing. 

He looked around, struggling to see anything other than utter darkness. There was something solid beneath his feet, but he dared not take a step, unknowing of what might lay beyond.

"Hitomi?" he felt his voice carry off into the distance.

_Just give up, Van._ Her voice was coming from all around him, echoing in the shadows.

"I'm not about to just give up on you!" he shouted, not sure where to direct the comment.

_Go away._

"No."

"You can't seem to take a hint."

Van whirled around to the voice that had spoken behind him.

There she was, dressed completely in black so that she practically blended in with the background. Her dark hair fell around her, her face extremely pale and her green eyes dull. Her face was a completely blank mask.

Van started towards her, "Hitomi, listen to me."

"Don't call me that," she voice, cold and detached, stopped him. "I'm sure that you can see that I am not Hitomi."

Van raised an eyebrow at this, and let his mind begin to whirl. Then, as if the person in front of his had explained it all to him, he understood. This wasn't Hitomi. It wasn't even Irishiko. This woman before him was another part of that same mind. 

This was the person that was evolving from the pain and the loss, one who had yet to take on a new identity.

"I want to see Hitomi," Van demanded of her.

She laughed mirthlessly at him. "What you ask is impossible," she said, her eyes piercing through him.

"Why?" Van demanded, his jaw clenched. 

"Because she doesn't want to see you," the woman before him said simply.

Van's eyes narrowed. This wasn't right. Hitomi needed him, of that he was sure.

"Don't lie to me," he spat, "And it doesn't matter what you say, I will talk with her."

She stared back at him from those vacant eyes. He almost couldn't stand it. They were so empty, so lost and lonely, they undid his anger and he was left with nothing but pity.

His surroundings began to change, the pitch black fading into a sort of grayness. He looked around for something to hold on to as he felt his balance slipping.

Eventually, ground solidified beneath him, the grayness becoming a log cabin, cold and damp, still and dark.

He looked around and the woman he'd been talking to was gone.

Just as he was about to speak up, there was a sharp scratching sound from the corner of the room and a small light came from the lit match.

A small candle was lit, and placed on a table he hadn't seen before.

"Why can't you just let it go, Van?" the person who lit the candle asked. It was her voice again. But Van sensed this wasn't Hitomi either.

He was right as she turned to face him, the light playing on her features: Irishiko.

He recognized the clothes, the face, the exposed scar across her forehead. 

He eyes were different too, brighter, steady and piercing, but still with that haunted quality.

But Van recognized that Irishiko, unlike the woman he'd previously dealt with, was someone he could reason with.

"I can't let it go because I love her," he said. 

"You _loved her," she corrected gently. "Because she doesn't exist anymore. She hasn't existed in a long time."_

Van shook his head. "No, I _love_ her. I know she's still here. I feel her, everyday, in me, always sweet and caring. I can see her, in you. I know she's there. I want to talk to her."

He swallowed thickly. "I need her. And I know she needs me too."

Irishiko studied him for a minute, her green eyes flickering in the candlelight.

Van nearly panicked when she blew out the candle, ready to fight with whoever to get what he wanted.

But to his surprise, he hadn't been shut out of her mind.

Instead, he heard her creak open a door and Van realized they were now standing in a barn. Looking behind him, he was startled to find Escaflowne looming over him.

He looked to Irishiko, who stood beside the open door, revealing the world outside, rain pouring in hard sheets, thunder clapping in the heaven above. The city in the distance…he recognized it. Palas, Asturia.

"Wha--?" he began, but she stopped him.

"You want to find her," she said simply. She motioned to the open door. "Go, try. Maybe this time, Fate will be on your side."

Van looked out into the pouring rain, not understanding. He glanced back to ask Irishiko what she meant, but she was gone.

The rain was really pouring now, coming down in sheets that blurred the landscape. Somehow, this was all extremely familiar to him. He stepped out into the rain, the cold drops pelting his face. He winced suddenly, touching a tender spot on his cheek.

_Maybe this time, Fate will be on your side._

It was all made clear then. He looked back at Escaflowne, just to make sure.

Yes, he remembered now.

He was in the past. 

Or, at least, the version of the past that Hitomi had in her mind.

Van jogged down the road that lead towards the city, becoming completely soaked, but he didn't really take notice. He picked up speed as he got nearer to his destination.

He zig-zaged through the Palas streets, shadows being the only hint of other people. The rain was pouring harder, if possible.

Finally, he reached it, that dreadful bridge that to this day he couldn't stand to look at. He stopped abruptly about ten feet away from it, suddenly afraid to come any closer. But he'd come this far, he had to see it through to the end.

He walked carefully to the bridge, stopping at the steps leading up to it, and his heart wrenched painfully in his chest.

There she was, curled up in a tiny little ball, her shoulders shaking from the sobs.

He reached out for her tentatively, not really knowing what to do or say now that he'd actually found her.

"Hitomi?" he asked quietly, for a moment wondering if she'd heard him over the roar of the rain.

She seemed startled by his voice because her head suddenly snapped up to look at him, her short honey colored hair wet and matted to her forehead.

And Van then realized that she was wearing that uniform that he'd met her in. Looking her over quickly, he realized this was _exactly_ the Hitomi he'd known fifteen years ago. Then he looked down at his own attire, the red shirt, the tan pants, and he knew he was also his awkward, gangly fifteen year old self.

This was in her mind. She was hurting, and this was where she was waiting, hoping like she always did that things would be okay. 

He was determined to make everything right for her.

"Hitomi," he said gently, kneeling down in front of her.

"Van?" she asked hesitantly, as if she didn't believe he was actually there.

"Yeah, it's me," he told her, running his hands up and down her arms in a soothing motion.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, her face wet from both the rain and her tears. Her features hardened a bit. "Shouldn't you be with your family?"

Van frowned at her. "I wanted to see you, Hitomi," he explained. "Why do you keep shutting me out?"

"I don't shut you out, Van," she said in a strangely hollow voice. "You walk away without a fight."

Van pulled back slightly, startled, much like when she'd slapped him.

"We talked for so long, Hitomi," he said in a tightly controlled voice. "All those years…why did you make me believe that you were still on the Mystic Moon? Why did you lie to me?"

She looked into his eyes, her features softening. "I thought it would be easier to let go if it happened subtly. I…" she stopped, looking down.

The rain fell between them, not as hard as before, but just steady.

"Irishiko wanted to move on," she continued, "She _had moved on."_

Her green eyes met his once again, nothing but complete honesty filling them. 

"I tried. But I couldn't," she told him. "No matter how much I tried, Van, I couldn't bring myself to let you go."

A lump formed in his throat as he brought his hands to cup her face, gently stroking her cheeks.

"So, then you'll understand that I can't let you go either," he said roughly, "And that I don't want to. Ever."

He saw more tears form in her eyes as he leaned in and brushed his lips with hers softly, hesitantly pulling back.

"Let me keep on loving you. All of you," he pleaded. "You're all I need."

She smiled slightly at him as he leaned down again, kissing her gently, letting his actions make up for what he lacked in words.

The kiss deepened and she moved closer to him. He could taste the salt of her tears, could physically feel all the anguish she'd been feeling for so long and tried to do all he could to make her forget it, even for a just a minute.

His hands slid down to her waist and he hauled her up, his mouth still attached to hers. He let his passion take over and kissed her with abandon, wanting to keep her in his arms forever.

The rain diminished to a drizzle, the dark ominous clouds fading away, letting vestiges of the sunset come through.

They finally pulled apart, and Van held Hitomi in his arms, keeping her in a tight embrace. When he finally let her go, she was no longer a teenager, but a grown woman, tall and graceful, her dark hair wet still and falling around her shoulders.

This was who she was now, and there she remained, in his arms.

"I love you," he told her gently, noticing that he too had returned to his normal self. "Are you willing to accept that?"

She nodded, giving him a small smile. "I can. And I can also accept that I love you, too."

*~*

His surroundings came back into focus and Van realized he was laying on his bed in his room.

He sat up, a small smile on his face.

He knew it was going to take a lot of work, especially with his family, but somehow, Hitomi was going to be a real part of his life once again. 

Now that he had her again, he decided, he wasn't about to let her go.

*~***~*

TBC…

A/N: Okay, don't hate me for another sucky chapter. Sorry. Whoa. Can you believe it's been a year since I started this? I can't either!! I am completely shocked. But the end is near!! *wipes away tear* I can't believe it. I love this story so much! It's pretty much the only thing keeping me anchored firmly in the Escaflowne fandom. O.O

Thank you to all of your truly wonderful readers that have stuck by me ever to faithfully. I couldn't have come this far without you.

CECE!!!! One more….

And the peasants rejoice.

--Youjibaracuda

"I'm not sure I'm quite familiar with that phrase."

"I'll explain. And I'll use small words so you're sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon."

---_The Princess Bride_


	22. Twenty Two

November 2003  
  


DISCLAIMER: Sadly, I don't own Escaflowne. We've covered this people!! I DON"T LIKE BEING SUED!!!!!

Read on.

**All I Need**

By Youjibaracuda

*~~*Chapter 22*~~*

Intense ruby colored eyes stared at her from by the window.

She was looking out, as she often did now, her dark brown hair cascading around her shoulders. Her eyes were glassy and lost out in the horizon, but a sparkle had returned to the green depths that had not existed before.

She was not yet aware of being watched, nor that the person watching her had stepped into the room and was slowly moving towards her with a hesitant step.

It wasn't until they were standing right beside her did she break from her reverie and turn only to have her green eyes lock with ruby ones.

"Hello," she managed through her surprise.

"Hello," came the answer.

There was a pause.

"Do you know that you look like my mother?" 

The other blanched. "Excuse me?"

"You do! You even sound like her! That's so funny!" giggled the four year old Varie Fanel.

The woman before her couldn't help but let the corners of her mouth pull upwards. "Is there something I could help you with, your highness?"

Varie wrinkled her nose at the title. "I hate it when people call me that. It sounds so stuffy."

Her companion couldn't help but laugh. "You sound like your father. Then would you prefer that I call you by your given name?"

Varie nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, please. It's Varie, by the way."

She did a little curtsy, like she had been taught to do by her Aunt Merle. "What's your name?"

There was a bit of hesitation. "You can call me Iri, Miss Varie."

"Iri," the little girl played with the name on her tongue. Then she smiled. "It's such a pretty name!"

"Thank you very much, Miss Varie," Iri answered with a soft smile. "Now, what brings you here to my room?"

Varie looked down sheepishly, playing with the black end of her braided hair. "Well, I was curious. I heard Mother and Father talking about someone up here in this part of the castle. Usually there's no one here, so…"

She blushed a little. "My brothers said that there was an old witch here from the Mystic Moon."

Iri nearly laughed. She wasn't sure whether to be amused that Van's children were afraid of her, or to be offended that they thought she was an old witch. She glanced over at her reflection in the vanity mirror in her room. Blood-shot, puffy eyes, her naturally pale skin looking ghostly against the blackness of her dress. She supposed she did look pretty horrible.

"So did they dare you to come up here?" she asked.

Varie's blush deepening answered her question.

"Well, I'll tell you what, Miss Varie," she said, resting her hands on the little girl's shoulders and peering into her little face, willing away a the pang she felt when she saw the resemblance to her father, "You can tell your brothers that you found the 'old witch' and that she taught you an old Mystic Moon hex to place on them if they were ever mean to you."

Varie's eyes lit up instantly, and she grinned from ear to ear, earning the small child a place in Iri's heart, despite her origins. 

It was right then that she realized just how much she'd missed having seen her own son grow up. The melodrama that was her life had been to cruel to her, and she only could feel the sadness and pity of a life snuffed out before it could even begin. 

She prayed to the heavens that she could see this little girl to live the rest of her life in a better world, much like she could have wanted Ehli to have lived in that world.

No longer would she sit around feeling sorry for herself, crying over what was and what could never be. 

She had to be strong.

And she would be. 

~~**~~

Van had only really spoken to her briefly, when they ran into each other in the training room. She was panting slightly, having just finished practicing, her sword gripped easily in her hand. She'd explained to him that she'd always been agile with it, but now she believed she had real skill and was ashamed that she'd spent all her time moping around.

He hadn't known what to say to her really. 

So she simply threw him a small smile and walked away.

Time, he realized, is what they would need. Things would never be the same between them again, but he was surprisingly glad about it. There were no more secrets between them, nothing to keep them emotionally apart. She would just need to heal, and that would happen with time. 

He was more than willing to wait until she was ready.

And then? Well, when that time came, he'd figure something out.

So when he found a small note from her waiting for him in his study, he'd been completely surprised.

_The south gardens. Dusk. _

He was there when she had asked him to be, standing with her back to him in the clearing, watching the Mystic Moon rise in the coming night sky. 

"I wanted to thank you," she said, sensing his presence. Her voice was softer than he'd ever heard it before.

He came to stand beside her and she turned to look at him.

"You don't need to thank me," he told her. 

"Yes, I do," she insisted, "I don't think that there's anyone who could have possibly gone through everything that you've been put through with as much…"

"Shh," Van interrupted her, placing a finger to her lips gently. "Don't make me into a martyr, please. I'm hardly a saint. There's so much I've put you through, that I can't even begin to apologize for."

She sighed and smiled a little, something she hadn't done in a long time. "Then how about we just agree that we're both sorry?"

"Sounds good to me," Van answered.

There was silence for a moment before she spoke again.

"I was meaning to ask you something."

"What?"

"Well…" she brought her eyes to his, "Are you ever sorry that things happened the way they did?"

Van didn't answer right away, thinking about her question. He'd asked himself the same thing sometimes, more often as of late.

He held her gaze as he answered truthfully, "Sometimes. But more often than not: no."

She nodded. "I know what you mean."

As much as she would have loved to make a life with Van, if she had it would have meant on missing out of the many good things that had happened in her life. She would have never met her friends, the people that were so important in her life at the moment. She would have never met Mohku, and Ehli would never have existed. She was sure that Van felt the same way about his own children. They wouldn't be here if things had been different.

She knew that both of them wouldn't give all that up for the chance to go back and do it over again.

Van was then fully realizing just how close together they were standing. He looked over her attire. She had thankfully gotten out of the black dress she had been wearing these past weeks. Now she had on a simple white blouse with black pants, her mourning sash securely around her waist. Her wedding ring was dangling from a thin golden chain. 

Van brought his hands to her face, not being able to resist not touching her now that they were alone together. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and lightly traced the scar on her forehead before running his fingers across the smooth skin of her cheeks.

She had closed her eyes, willingly leaning into his touch. She could feel the heat coming from his body, oh so close to hers, feel his breathing on her face, his heartbeat, strong and steady beneath her hands as they traveled up his chest.

His first kiss on her forehead was feather light, just like the ones he then placed gently on her cheeks. Their lips met, mixing with tenderness, leaving out everything else that was between them but the purest kind of love.

They pulled away from the kiss, their foreheads still touching, enjoying for a moment each other's presence.

Van smiled a bit, thankful that after everything that had happened, what was between them hadn't changed. In fact, it might have even come through stronger than ever.

"I'm so glad to have you here again," he said softly.

This was it, the moment ad come.

Suddenly, she felt there wasn't enough air in her lungs, her throat constricting around the words she knew she had to force out anyway.

"I have to go," she barely managed to whisper, steeping back from him.

Van's crestfallen expression nearly broke her heart.

"What?" he asked, hoping he'd heard wrong.

"I can't stay," she told him, tears forming in her eyes. Why was she always doing this? She knew how much it hurt to be left behind. So why was it that she always had to be the one to say good-bye?

"What are you talking about?" he asked, his voice nearly breaking.

She didn't reply, but looked down the ground.

"You're leaving?" he asked. "How…Why…?" Van couldn't even form the questions running in his mind.

"That's why I asked you to come out here," she explained. "To tell you that I'm leaving."

"Why?" he asked.

"You know why, Van. I can't do this to you. We can't…" her words fell away as tears threatened to choke her. She angrily fought them down. She had promised herself she wouldn't fall apart. 

"Your family…I know what it feels like. My father left my mother for some other woman. I don't want to wish that on your family," she continued. "And I know you couldn't do that to them either. It isn't fair, it isn't right. And…as much as I know we both want this to work, it can't. Not right now. Not the way things are."

Van frowned, ready to fight her on this, but something in her gaze stopped him. He felt the lump form in his throat, successfully stopping all his arguments.

She was right and he knew it. He'd never be able to betray his family like that, no matter how much he would want to. But if she stayed, it wouldn't be long before he'd end up doing exactly that. She was just making it easier for everyone by leaving.

"When will you be back?" he finally managed to ask.

She bit her lip, looking away from him. "I'm not sure."

Van nodded slowly, slipping his hand into hers, hoping with that gesture to keep her next to him.

He sighed slowly, wishing with all that was in him that this wasn't really happening, that he wasn't willingly letting her go again.

"I don't want to lose you again," he told her.

"You never lost me. And you never will."

She stepped close to him again. "You won't ever lose me because I'm here," she said, laying her hand over his heart. "And nothing's going to change that."

He pulled her into his arms, holding onto her tightly, not wanting to let go. 

"You're in my heart, Van. You always have been," she told him, tears now slipping past her eye lashes and down her cheeks. "You always will be."

She forced a smile upon her lips. "Besides, if you want to reach me," she continued, fingering the pink pendant that still hung around his neck, "You know how to reach me."

Van took both her hands in his and held them against his heart.

"I don't know how you do it," he told her, "How you can be so strong after everything…"

She shook her head, and said nothing, not trusting her voice at the moment.

Van raised his eyes to hers once more, wanting to make sure she felt what he said next.

"I love you."

She smiled and leaned in, gently touching her lips with his while breaking free of his hold.

Backing away, she smiled at him through her tears.

"That's all I need."

The breeze blew softly as the last of the sun's light disappeared completely from the sky, the light of the stars and the twin moons being the new source of light.

She would still stare up at the Mystic Moon, a small sigh escaping her lips, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

Time heals all wounds.

So now all she had to do was wait.

"Iri-sama?" Ero touched her shoulder.

She turned to look at her second in command and the rest of her friends watching her from behind him.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

'I'll talk to you later, Van.'

'Okay. Be careful.'

'Aren't I always? …I love you.'

'I love you too. See you soon.'

"Let's go, Ero," she said, mounting on her mare and riding away.

**~~~**owari**~~~~**

Baracuda here. *in complete shock* Wow!! I finished!!! I really finished!!!!

Well, sort of. 

See, for all of you who want a refreshing change from the conventional V/H, then this is the end. That's it. Leave a review and go home. ^_^ thanks for reading.

However, since a lot of you are *really* into the conventional V/H (and let's face it, so am I), then for you there's more!!!!

No, not a sequel. Sorry. I'm writing an epilogue which will be the last thing that I write for this fic because I do *not* have the time/energy/desire to write a sequel. So you guys are going to have to deal with it. Okay? Okay. Look for it sometime this month.

Once again, the **hugest** THANK YOU on the planet for reading my little sorry attempt at fanfiction (I never had a beta. ;_;). I can't tell you how much your support has meant to me. *sniff* you guys are the best. And I'd like to thank the academy…

Oops. Wrong speech.

Seriously, though, you guys have to idea what this has taken out of me and I truly, truly appreciate your support. You guys make it all worthwhile.

My first reviewers!

**Equinox; Lady of the Ink; Illicit Water Dragon; silver sea star; Cous-cous; Maureen; Avaris Sky; Questionable Lies**

My loyal readers!****

**RiverDolphin; Tydepul; Sailor Hope; Speaker Of The Spirits; CraZKitty; sippio; angelwings; snow blossoms; Galene; The Reader is Now Blind; lightbrown97@yahoo.com**

My biggest fans!

**Equinox**

**Lady of the Ink**

**Inda**

**silver sea star**

**MabaroshiTsuki**

**Sakura-chan**

And most importantly, the biggest thank you in the world goes to **FierySable, for without her nagging/pushing/threatening/and all-in-all loyal and *patient* support I was finally able to finish this fic. I WUBBA JOOOOO!!!!!! \^o^/ feel the love, darn you!!!! **

There. The end.

And the peasants rejoice.

--Youjibaracuda

"Stop, stop."

"What?"

"They're kissing again. Do we _have_ to hear the kissing part?"

"Someday, you may not mind so much."

--_The Princess Bride_


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